By Annika Howells
Publication Date: 2026-03-22 13:05:00
Public trust in doctors and health services is slowly changing, but in the wrong direction in both Australia and the US. At the Australian Ethical Health Alliance (AEHA) Symposium in May 2025, the message was clear that we as health professionals must act quickly. As panelists discussing the rise of misinformation and disinformation, we examined how trust has always been the ethical currency of medicine; However, once you start spending it, everything else, including vaccination, screening, shared decision-making and even planning for discharge to aged care, becomes more difficult.
What has changed is not just the amount of bad information in the system, but also the way people now form beliefs. Professor Michael Kidd discussed current health megatrends at the symposium, including the increasing health imperative and how we target health promotion. GPs often see social media, AI-generated “health” content and inconsistent messaging from authorities…
