Medical misinformation is eroding quality of care, trust between physicians and patients: survey

Just about every doctor is encountering patients misled by medical misinformation and a majority of physicians say it’s affecting their ability to provide quality patient care.

The Physicians Foundation published the 2026 “Survey of America's Physicians: Misinformation and the Erosion of Trust in American Health Care.” More than 1,000 physicians responded and documented a national epidemic of health-related falsehoods and inaccurate claims.

“Misinformation is no longer simply shaping what patients believe about their health,” Physicians Foundation President Gary Price, M.D., MBA, said in a news release. “It is influencing the decisions they make about their care and challenging the trust at the center of the patient-physician relationship.

“Physicians are increasingly being asked to help patients sort through conflicting health information,” he said. “They need the time and resources to have those conversations effectively.”

Correcting mistaken patients takes time that already is limited due to productivity expectations, administrative demands and other pressures resulting from consolidation of health care. The findings point to a two-part solution: giving patients better access to trusted health information, and giving physicians the time and resources to address misinformation when it surfaces in patient care, according to The Physicians Foundation.

Key findings

In the survey, 65% of physicians said medical misinformation is significantly affecting their ability to provide quality patient care, up from 57% just a year earlier.

The effects of misinformation are being felt directly during patient visits. Nearly every physician surveyed, 99.9%, said they encountered a patient influenced by misinformation in the past year, and 69% said they encounter it a moderate amount to a great deal of the time, up from 61% in 2025.

For many physicians, those encounters are straining relationships with patients. One in three physicians (34%) reported very often or often experiencing a breakdown of trust with patients because of misinformation, while 31% reported very often or often experiencing increased conflict with patients during visits for the same reason.

The problem is more pronounced outside major metropolitan areas. Rural physicians (78%) reported higher frequencies of encountering patients influenced by misinformation than urban physicians (67%) and suburban physicians (69%).

Consequences for patients

The effects of misinformation reach beyond what patients believe about their health. Physicians reported that misinformation is increasingly shaping how patients act and feel once they are in front of a physician.

• 49% reported very often or often experiencing medication or treatment nonadherence linked to misinformation
• 45% reported very often or often experiencing patients refusing recommended treatment or care for the same reason.
• 66% reported very often or often observing increased patient anxiety tied to misinformation.

Physicians also expressed broad skepticism about patients' ability to navigate health information on their own. Nearly half (43%) said they have no confidence that their patients know how to access reliable, evidence-based health information online.

Strain on the health care system

Beyond the exam room, physicians said misinformation is contributing to unnecessary care and additional strain on the broader health care system. Four in ten physicians (43%) reported that misinformation very often or often contributes to unnecessary tests and procedures, and one in three (34%) reported that it very often or often contributes to emergency room and urgent care overuse.

The strain is falling hardest on primary care. A full 70% reported experiencing major or moderate impact on their ability to provide care because of misinformation, compared with 61% of specialists.

Physicians lack time and tools

Despite the growing burden, physicians said they are not getting the support they need to address misinformation with patients. One-third of physicians (34%) said they are not confident they have the necessary time to engage with patients who are skeptical about modern medicine and science. An even larger share, three in four physicians (74%), said they are not confident they have the necessary tools and support to have those conversations. That figure was up from 63% in 2025.