By: Khristine Olguin, Chief Nursing Officer, Shearwater Health
Shearwater Health was recently recognized on Newsweek’s America’s Greatest Workplaces List for Trust 2026, based on nearly 180,000 employee surveys that assessed leadership trust, integrity, honesty, and ethics nationwide.
As Chief Nursing Officer, I can tell you why that recognition matters beyond the badge. Trust has always been fundamental to who we are and how we operate, and nursing has long held its place as one of the most trusted professions. In 2026, trust is also becoming something patients can see: it is earned, experienced, and evidenced in every interaction. For our industry, that makes trust a tangible differentiator, and it is the best opportunity we’ve had in years to measure its success through the patients we serve.
Trust in healthcare is becoming visible
Consider prior authorization, one of the current spaces patients feel the healthcare system most. As of January, new federal rules require health plans serving Medicare, Medicaid, and marketplace patients to decide urgent medical requests within 72 hours, give a specific reason for denials, and publicly report how often they approve, deny, and reverse their own decisions.
While there are many strong factors behind this, it could also mean patients already wading through a complex system will now face something new: a flood of new information that requires a more active role with their providers in making decisions.
The discrepancy between healthcare advertisements and actual patient experiences is already wide. Authorization reviews alone already require an average of thirteen hours per provider weekly, while nearly seventy-five percent of adults regard insurance-related delays and denials as a significant issue, according to KFF polling. Beneath this information lies a fundamental question: How can we leverage the rapidly-evolving healthcare landscape to reinforce trust with patients again?
Speed alone won’t rebuild patient trust
When it comes to safeguarding that trust, it’s important to keep in mind that velocity without soundness can be risky. While AI, for instance, oEers an incredible opportunity to mitigate administrative burdens and help organizations hit strict timelines, speed means nothing without accuracy. Functions such as utilization review and care management are grounded in expert clinical assessment, requiring nurses and other clinicians to apply critical thinking, evidence-based practice, and professional judgment to complex patient situations. True transformation is achieved when clinicians are empowered with the right tools and resources while remaining accountable for the final clinical decision, ensuring speed and innovation never compromise patient outcomes. Ultimately, patients won’t remember how fast a decision came, but whether it was right.
Where trust actually lives
My decades in nursing have taught me that trust is built person to person. Patients place their confidence in the clinicians behind every decision and the people who care for them. A healthcare organization earns trust one accurate, timely, clinically-sound decision at a time. When a nurse with proper clinical training and support assesses a case, the quality of decisions improves, documentation becomes more robust, and patients feel confident about the answers they receive.
This is why trust is a critical part of Shearwater’s mission and vision. When we empower the talented clinicians who are involved in patient decisions, trust stops being an abstract value and becomes a visible, measurable outcome.
