The last several years exposed growing fault lines in how people understand and engage with healthcare. It started way before COVID, but in 2025, those fault lines were no longer theoretical. They showed up in how people reacted to shifting guidance, how they interpreted information, and what they expected from the organizations they rely on. The turbulence didn’t ease — but the consequences of that disconnect became far harder to overlook. America’s relationship with its healthcare system – and the idea of science and healthcare expertise – has been strained, but it officially feels like we are “seeing other people” now. We may not be broken up, but the relationship is more than strained.

Consumers faced a confusing mix of longstanding health guidelines, political posturing, and inconsistent messages at the federal level. Familiar experts were questioned. New voices filled the vacuum, often with more confidence than qualification. In that environment, clarity wasn’t just welcome — it was necessary. And clarity was in very short supply.

2025 didn’t create or solve the trust problem in healthcare. Yet it showed us how urgent and widespread the hunger for authenticity has become.

Public confusion demands a different kind of leadership

This year demonstrated just how disorienting the healthcare landscape can be for people trying to make practical decisions about their health and their healthcare needs. Evolving recommendations, polarized commentary, and rapid-fire news cycles made it harder for audiences to discern what to act on and what to ignore. Many health systems and other healthcare provider groups hesitated to offer clarity, worried about entering contested conversations or being misunderstood.

That hesitation created its own challenges.

People weren’t simply confused or uncertain — they were trying to navigate an overwhelming information environment without enough trusted sources stepping forward. In our consumer research, when people described an “authentic” health system, they used words like honest, trustworthy, reliable, and patient-first. These words pointed to a desire for steadiness and credibility, especially when guidance changed or appeared inconsistent. And the definitions of each of those words differs substantially depending on where you sit on the political spectrum and what “tribe” you identify with.

Some organizations took steps toward clearer, more direct communication. They focused on practical explanations and community context, or they addressed confusion directly. These weren’t sweeping reinventions, but they were noticed. And in many cases, they helped fill gaps that silence had unintentionally widened.

In a year defined by uncertainty, presence mattered as much as message.

A growing appetite for authenticity shaped expectations

One of the clearest themes of 2025 was how strongly audiences responded to tone. People weren’t just evaluating whether information was correct, they were evaluating how it was delivered. They wanted to understand the reasoning behind guidance, not just the guidance itself. They expected direct language, thoughtful explanation, and communication that felt grounded in real-world context.

We saw this play out in predictable ways:

• Patients pressed for clarity when recommendations shifted.
• Straightforward messages held attention more effectively than highly produced campaigns.
• Communities responded positively when organizations explained decisions openly, even when those decisions were complex.

Would most providers look at their marketing and say that it’s an authentic representation of their mission? Probably. Yet the problem isn’t with the message, the problem is how it’s delivered and by whom. We know that many people do not trust traditional sources of health information, experts in white coats. And that is why many health systems struggle to connect effectively with different audiences and with people with different allegiances. Most health systems are still clarifying what communicating authentically and effectively means within their culture — and how to engage in new and different ways to reach their full audience.

This shift isn’t about style. It’s about alignment — matching communication to what people increasingly expect from any institution they rely on: clarity, candor, and respect for their need to make informed decisions. It just has to be packaged in a way that feels authentic to people who will only listen if it’s delivered:

• By someone who believes what they believe, or at least seems to
• In a channel they’re comfortable in
• Using language that matches their established worldview

Providers found themselves playing a broader role

In 2025, health systems weren’t simply delivering care. They were helping their communities interpret information, cut through distraction, and regain a sense of orientation in a confusing environment.

Consumers and patients evaluated organizations on more than clinical expertise. They looked for signs of transparency, fairness, accessibility, and compassion in communication as well as care. Those expectations came through consistently in our research, where consumers defined authentic systems as those that are open, equitable, and patient-first in both action and tone.

Many organizations weren’t built for this expanded role. Yet some began stepping toward it because their communities needed the support. Even small shifts — clearer explanations, steadier communication rhythms, more practical guidance — helped rebuild confidence at a time when trust felt strained. Now all health systems and provider organizations must reconsider their approach to marketing and PR. Without an authentic approach that incorporates new messages, messengers, and channels, we lose the ability to credibly reach half the population. There is no nonprofit health system in the country that mentions serving half the population.

AI pushed marketers to re-examine how they communicate

The rapid adoption of AI created new efficiencies and new questions in equal measure. AI made it easier to scale content and personalize outreach, but it also heightened public sensitivity to what feels automated or impersonal — especially in healthcare.

Several themes stood out:

• People assume AI is everywhere, which makes all content suspect.
• People quickly recognized content that actually lacked human oversight.
• AI-assisted work performed best, and maybe only works, when paired with editorial judgment and clear intent.
• Transparency about how AI was used played a meaningful role in whether audiences trusted the output.

Organizations made the most progress when they treated AI as a tool that supports strategy, rather than a replacement for the human elements of communication. The teams that benefited most were the ones that used AI to reduce operational load so they could invest more energy in insight, empathy, and creative clarity.

Trust re-emerged as a defining competitive advantage

Across every conversation this year — marketing, managed care, digital, patient experience — trust surfaced as the central theme shaping consumer behavior. It influenced how people interpreted information, how they perceived recommendations, and which organizations they considered when making decisions.

Health systems that maintained or strengthened trust in 2025 shared several traits:

• Communication was consistent and steady.
• Explanations were understandable without oversimplifying.
• They reduced friction wherever they could, especially in moments that already feel stressful for patients.
• Actions aligned with the values they expressed publicly.

These behaviors weren’t headline-grabbing. They were disciplined and reliable. And they made a meaningful difference at a time when the information environment made reliability feel scarce.

What 2025 revealed about the work ahead

The year made one truth impossible to overlook: people value communication that feels clear, sincere, and grounded in their lived experience. They’re not asking for perfection, they’re asking for Authenticity in the post-truth era. They’re looking for honesty, steadiness, and a sense that their health system is willing to meet them where they are. It’s a tough combination, but achievable.

Authenticity is common in healthcare marketing, but that’s not the problem. The key is Authentic Healthcare Marketing that navigates the complexities of the post-truth era. For people who reject science and experts and institutions, healthcare marketing MUST be different if we hope to penetrate the veil of skepticism and anger. Authentic healthcare marketing in the post-truth era is a direction many organizations are exploring and refining, with early steps taking shape across the country. But the appetite for this shift is real — and rising.

The opportunity in 2026 is to continue that progress. To make guidance easier to understand. To strengthen the connection between values and actions. To build trust not through grand declarations, but through consistent communication that reflects the realities people face when making decisions about their care.

A look toward 2026

If this year clarified anything, it’s that healthcare marketing is deeply connected to how people experience the system itself. It shapes understanding. It builds trust. It influences when and how people choose to seek care.

We’re fortunate to work alongside organizations that recognize the weight of that responsibility. Our clients show up every day to solve complex problems in their communities — often under significant pressure — and they continue to demonstrate a commitment to helping people live healthier lives. That commitment is what gives me optimism for the coming year.

Many health systems began taking meaningful steps in 2025 toward clearer communication, more candid storytelling, and a more human connection with their communities. These weren’t dramatic shifts, but they were intentional, and intention is how real change takes root.

2026 offers a chance to build on that momentum. To refine communication so it’s easier for people to act on. To strengthen the bridge between strategy and lived experience. To make authenticity a clearer throughline in how organizations show up for the people they serve — including for people who don’t understand healthcare and for those who do not think about healthcare through the traditional lenses of science and expertise. We must be there for everyone, and to do that, we must market ourselves differently than ever before.

We’re looking forward to continuing that work with our clients — not with the expectation that everything will change at once, but with confidence that steady, thoughtful effort creates progress that lasts. This work is too important to do anything else.