Iatrophobia - fear of doctors, medical care, or the medical care system - is common among patients and can negatively impact their health-seeking behaviors and relationships with health care professionals. Despite this, academic literature on iatrophobia often fails to explore its nuanced causes.We establish a conceptual framework of iatrophobia, categorizing sources of fear that may create barriers to accessing medical care, and recommend a research agenda to address this phenomenon and understand its role in medical care.The framework includes three categories of determinants of iatrophobia: patient fear of illness and the medical exam, patient fear of physician reaction, and patient fear related to barriers to care. These categories represent influences from individual to more system-related factors associated with the physician-patient relationship. Research examining iatrophobia should focus on understanding its prevalence, how patients cope with their fear, discussing iatrophobia in the physician-patient encounter, the sociopolitical contribution to iatrophobia, and how iatrophobia can be reduced.Iatrophobia can be categorized into three primary domains, but it remains poorly understood.A more thorough understanding of iatrophobia will help to contextualize its role amid other barriers to care and patient health outcomes.