Impact of adverse media reporting on public perceptions of the doctor-patient relationship in China: an analysis with propensity score matching method.

Chinese national media's reporting of adverse news negatively affected the perceptions of the doctor-patient relationship among both inpatients and doctors. A better understanding of the role of mass media in the formation of opinion and trust between doctors and patients may permit strategies for managing the media, in order to improve public perceptions of the doctor-patient relationship.