India’s healthcare sector faces a growing trust deficit in hospitals and clinics, driven by perceptions of overcharging, overtreatment, unresponsiveness and lack of transparency. Approximately, 76 per cent of Indians express dissatisfaction with the public healthcare system, while private hospitals are often criticised for prioritising profit over patient welfare.
Yet, when we look at healthcare delivery outcomes and costs, India performs better than many might expect. The country has made significant gains in life expectancy (increased by 3 years in the past decade), maternal and child health indicators, and access to advanced treatments at a fraction of the cost seen in developed nations. India’s expenditure on health is far lower than in most Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, and complex procedures such as cardiac surgeries or organ transplants are delivered at a fraction of Western prices often with comparable or better clinical success rates. This creates a paradox: while outcomes and affordability position India as a global healthcare hub, domestic trust levels remain disproportionately low. The gap, therefore, seems less about medical competence or cost efficiency, and more about how hospitals and clinics communicate with patients clearly, empathetically, and transparently at every stage of care.
At Medulla, we believe this is unacceptable. Communication is not a peripheral activity; it is central to care. Patients deserve clarity on what their treatment involves, what it will cost, what risks exist, and what outcomes they can realistically expect. Too often, silence and jargon fill the space where transparency and reassurance should be. When communication is done right; simple, human, transparent, it restores trust, strengthens adherence, reduces unnecessary escalations and positions hospitals as true partners in health.
Indian patients trust people more than institutions. They place faith in their doctors before they do in hospitals. This presents a powerful opportunity: to use the credibility of doctors not just in care, but in communication through proper channels. At the same time, hospitals must deepen their communication with referring doctors, keeping them informed on patient outcomes and involving them as true partners. This shift will strengthen trust in individual hospitals and in the healthcare system.
The digital landscape adds another layer to this challenge. Patients today begin their healthcare journey with a search bar, not a hospital gate. Hospitals are pouring money into performance marketing to capture these leads, but conversion remains low, and the trust gap widens. Why? Because too often, campaigns focus on the 0.1 per cent of patients who walk through the door, while alienating the other 99.9 per cent with exaggerated claims or price-led messaging. Trust cannot be built on discounts. Instead, hospitals should harness content marketing and digital health education offering patients ongoing support and credible information on chronic diseases, preventive health and wellness. By becoming part of a patient’s everyday health journey, a hospital ensures it will be the first point of call when care is needed.
Finally, communication must extend beyond campaigns and must live in every interaction. Every nurse, front desk associate and ward boy is a communicator of the hospital brand. If communication across these touchpoints is inconsistent or transactional, trust erodes instantly. Training every member of staff to embody transparency, empathy, and consistency is no longer optional, it is essential.
This is the future of healthcare communication: Shifting from claims to actions, from campaigns to conversations, from transactions to trust. And it is here, in designing and driving such structured communication, that we see the greatest potential to transform healthcare in India.