June 18th, 2026
4 min. read
By Bonnie Reeves, Chief Practice Officer
What does primary care actually look and feel like today? See the data behind today’s primary care experience in the 2026 State of Primary Care Report.
When it comes to healthcare, trust matters.
Most of us seek advice before making important decisions. We ask friends and family for recommendations on everything from financial advisors to home contractors because we value the experiences of people we trust.
But few recommendations carry as much weight as a physician recommendation.
After all, when you recommend a doctor, you're not simply suggesting a service. You're recommending someone who may help guide another person's health decisions for years to come.
That raises an important question: Would you recommend your doctor to someone you care about?
To better understand how patients feel about their primary care experience, PartnerMD conducted the Primary Care Check-Up, an online self-assessment completed by more than 500 people.
The Check-Up evaluates primary care across four key areas: access and availability, relationship and time with the physician, prevention and long-term care, and coordination and support.
As part of the assessment, participants were asked a simple question:
"On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend your doctor to family or friends?"
The answer revealed something surprising.
Why Patients Trust Doctor Recommendations
When choosing a physician, many patients actively seek reassurance from others.
Among patients with an established primary care physician, one-third found their doctor through a recommendation from a trusted friend or family member.
Many patients also look beyond personal recommendations. One recent survey found that 84% of patients check online reviews before choosing a healthcare provider.
Whether those recommendations come from someone we know personally or from the experiences of other patients, they serve the same purpose: helping us decide who we can trust with our health.
What Patient Data Reveals About Trust in Primary Care
When respondents were asked how likely they were to recommend their doctor to family or friends, their responses resulted in a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of -52.
For context, Net Promoter Scores range from -100 to +100, with higher scores indicating a greater willingness to recommend an experience to others.
Healthcare organizations typically report positive Net Promoter Scores, and the State of Primary Care Report's score of -52 stands in sharp contrast to the healthcare industry benchmark of +61.
Looking deeper at the responses reveals why the score was so low.
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The most common response was a 1 out of 10, selected by 21% of respondents.
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Overall, 66% of participants rated their likelihood to recommend their doctor between 1 and 6, while only 14% gave the highest ratings of 9 or 10.
While NPS is commonly used to measure willingness to recommend a product, service, or experience, in healthcare it can also reflect trust. Do patients feel confident enough in their care to recommend it to someone they care about?
Only 14% of respondents said they feel very confident they are receiving the best possible care.
Having a doctor and enthusiastically recommending that doctor are not always the same thing.
Many patients value and respect their physicians. Yet they may still hesitate to recommend their overall care experience to someone they love.
The rest of the data offers some clues.
Why Patients Hesitate to Recommend Their Doctor
The findings of the State of Primary Care Report suggest the issue may not be physician commitment. Instead, many patients are struggling with the experience of navigating today's healthcare system.
Across the report, several patterns emerged:
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68% of respondents say their appointments feel rushed at least sometimes.
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62% say they cannot reach their doctor's office after hours if needed.
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80% worry important health issues could slip through the cracks with their current care.
Recommendations are earned through experiences.
When patients feel rushed, disconnected, unsupported, or uncertain, confidence becomes harder to build. And when confidence is low, recommendations become less likely.
What Builds Trust Between Patients and Doctors
For Don Kiloren, the answer comes down to something simple: trust.
Before discovering concierge medicine, Don often felt there was not enough time for meaningful conversations with his physicians.
"What I found was doctors would not spend as much time," he said. "They were so heavy on their workload that I don't think they had time to really sit and discuss different things."
Like many patients, he understood the pressures physicians face, but the experience still left him wanting something more personal.
That changed when he joined PartnerMD and met Dr. Allen Joslyn.
"I spent more time with him in the introduction than I had in almost a year of dealing with previous doctors," Don said.
Over time, Don noticed something else. Dr. Joslyn did more than make referrals or provide recommendations. He followed up. He stayed involved. He helped connect Don with specialists when needed and remained engaged throughout the process.
"He really cared," Don said.
That level of attention and follow-through gave Don something he values deeply: peace of mind. When asked what it means to have a physician who truly knows him, his answer was immediate.
"It is worth everything," he said.
In fact, Don has already recommended PartnerMD to others.
"We've already given recommendations," he said.
Patients recommend physicians when they feel known, supported, and confident in their care.
Why Patients Recommend Their Doctor
Trust develops through consistent experiences over time. Patients who feel confident recommending their physician often describe similar qualities:
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They can access care when they need it.
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Their concerns are heard and taken seriously.
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They do not feel rushed during appointments.
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Their physician understands their health history and goals.
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Someone is helping coordinate their care.
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They have confidence that important details are not being overlooked.
These are the same themes measured throughout the State of Primary Care Report.
When they are present, patients feel more confident, more supported, and more certain that someone is looking out for their health.
When they are missing, trust becomes harder to build.
Would You Recommend Your Doctor?
The findings from the Primary Care Check-Up raise an important question.
If someone you care about needed a primary care physician tomorrow, would you confidently recommend your own?
In healthcare, recommendations are more than opinions. They are expressions of trust.
The State of Primary Care Report suggests that many patients are hesitant to make that recommendation today. The reasons are complex, but the themes are consistent: limited access, rushed visits, gaps in prevention, and fragmented coordination.
When those challenges are addressed, the experience of care changes.
Patients feel known and supported. And perhaps most importantly, they feel confident enough to recommend their physician to the people who matter most.
To explore the full findings and see how patients rated access, physician relationships, prevention, and care coordination, download the complete 2026 State of Primary Care Report.
