Importance Understanding how administrative errors, such as prescription errors, appointment scheduling errors, and patient confidentiality breaches impact trust in physicians is crucial for improving patient-physician relationships and healthcare outcomes. Objectives To investigate the association between administrative errors, general trust in physicians and interpersonal trust in a physician. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting An online panel survey targeting adults across Japan. Participants Adults aged ≥20 years who had received treatment at least twice for non-communicable diseases within the past 6 months. Exposure Past experiences with prescription errors, confidentiality breaches, and appointment scheduling errors by personal physicians treating their non-communicable diseases. Primary Outcomes and Measurements General trust in physicians and interpersonal trust in a physician were measured using the Japanese version of the Wake Forest Physician Trust Scale. Results Among the 661 participants, nearly 14% reported experiencing at least one type of administrative error. Prescription errors were associated with a significant decrease in general trust in physicians (−9.78 points, 95% confidence interval (CI): −13.74 to −5.81). Confidentiality breaches had the most significant negative impact on interpersonal trust (−14.09 points, 95% CI: −24.35 to −3.83), followed by appointment scheduling errors (−13.56 points, 95% CI: −22.48 to −4.65). Mediation analysis revealed that the association between prescription errors and reduced general trust was partially mediated by decreased trust in personal physicians. Conclusions and Relevance Administrative errors during care for non-communicable diseases significantly undermine patients' trust in physicians. Physicians should prioritise improving their practices, particularly regarding prescription errors, as these errors harm interpersonal relationships and have broader implications for the public's perception of physicians.

Dr. Kurita reported receiving grants from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science; consulting fees from GlaxoSmithKline K.K.; and payments for speaking at and participating in educational events from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Sanofi K.K., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, and Japan College of Rheumatology.

This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI, Grant Numbers 19KT0021 (N. K.) and 22K19690 (N. K.). The funder had no role in the study design, analyses, interpretation of data, writing of the manuscript, or decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

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The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Review Board of Okayama University Hospital (No. ken-2405-041).

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The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.