Scientific evaluation of clinical interventions in resuscitation medicine.

The image of the physician as a therapist, as well as the general perception of the physician's role in society and in the life of patients and their families, has changed dramatically in past decades. In response, many conferences, editorials, and planning activities for medical and premedical curricula have been devoted to the subject of restoring the elements of compassion and personal involvement to the relationship between physician and patient. Nonetheless, the change in the doctor-patient relationship might merely reflect the growing indifference to people as individuals that seems to pervade our society in all service-related areas. Although the loss is particularly objectionable for the sick, some may claim it is compensated by scientifically superior care in present-day medical practice. This paper will reflect briefly on past and present views of medical care and its evaluation. It will conclude that a scientifically sound evaluation of treatment might also offer a solution for restoration of human elements in the delivery of medical care.