What You Should Know:
– ECRI, a global healthcare safety nonprofit, has identified dismissing patient, family, and caregiver concerns as the most significant threat to patient safety in 2025.
– This alarming finding highlights a critical issue where time constraints, resource limitations, and unconscious biases lead to unaddressed patient concerns, potentially resulting in missed diagnoses and delayed treatments.
The Prevalence of “Medical Gaslighting”
A staggering 94% of patients report instances where their symptoms were ignored or dismissed by a doctor, according to a HealthCentral survey. ECRI experts explain that this phenomenon, often referred to as “medical gaslighting,” is not typically intentional. It occurs when clinicians, often under pressure, invalidate a patient’s genuine clinical concern without proper medical evaluation.
Factors contributing to medical gaslighting include:
- Time constraints: Rushed appointments limit the time clinicians have to fully listen to patients.
- Unconscious biases: Clinicians may reflexively attribute symptoms to factors like mental illness, age, or weight.
- Cognitive errors: Interpreting new information to confirm a previous diagnosis can lead to overlooking crucial details.
The Impact on Patient Safety and Trust
Dismissing patient concerns can lead to:
- Missed diagnoses: Overlooking critical symptoms can delay or prevent proper treatment.
- Decreased trust: Patients feel unheard and invalidated, eroding trust in the healthcare system.
- Delayed treatment: Untreated conditions can worsen, leading to more severe health problems.
A Systemic Issue Requiring Holistic Solutions
ECRI emphasizes that patient safety events are often rooted in systemic issues, not isolated incidents. Addressing this threat requires a holistic approach that considers:
- Leadership and governance: Implementing policies that prioritize patient-centered care.
- Patient engagement: Actively involving patients in their care decisions.
- Workforce wellness: Supporting clinicians to reduce burnout and improve their ability to provide empathetic care.
- Training infrastructure: Educating clinicians on empathetic listening techniques and recognizing unconscious biases.
ECRI’s Recommendations and Top 10 Concerns
ECRI offers system-based recommendations, including examining scheduling policies and providing education on often-misunderstood conditions.
The top 10 patient safety concerns for 2025, according to ECRI, are:
- Dismissing patient, family, and caregiver concerns
- Insufficient governance of artificial intelligence
- Spread of medical misinformation
- Cybersecurity breaches
- Caring for veterans in non-military health settings
- Substandard and falsified drugs
- Diagnostic error in cancers, vascular events, and infections
- Healthcare-associated infections in long-term care facilities
- Inadequate coordination during patient discharge
- Deteriorating working conditions in community pharmacies
“Most clinicians have a deep commitment to healing and protecting their patients and would never intentionally make a patient feel unheard, but it nevertheless happens with alarming frequency,” said Marcus Schabacker, MD, PhD, president and chief executive officer of ECRI. “Providing high-quality healthcare starts with truly listening to patients. When we value their input, we gain critical insights that improve patient outcomes and build trust. A healthcare system that prioritizes patient voices is one that delivers safer, more efficient, and more compassionate care for all. Unfortunately, too many clinicians are operating under time and resource constraints that fuel substandard care.”
