People rely on doctors' expertise to respond to issues relating to their health. Trust in a doctor's credibility is essential to a patient's health: depending on the patient's trust in the doctor they will be more or less willing to seek help, reveal sensitive information, submit to treatment, and follow the doctor's recommendations. According to numerous studies, done over 15 years we can conclude that we see a doctor's credibility as having five overlapping characteristics: Fidelity, which is caring and advocating for the patient's interests or welfare and avoiding conflicts of interest; competence, which is having good practice and interpersonal skills, making correct decisions, and avoiding mistakes; honesty, which is telling the truth and avoiding intentional falsehoods; confidentiality, which is proper use of sensitive information; and global trust, which is the irreducible “soul” of trust, or aspects that combine elements from some or all of the separate dimensions.