Dear Dr. Peabody.

Reading the following brief piece depends on having some knowledge of the famous essay to which it refers, Francis W. Peabody's "The Care of the Patient," published 90 years ago in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA 88: 877-82). Peabody's essay was based on a talk he gave to Harvard medical students in 1925, and it was published shortly before his premature death in 1927. At the time, he was highly regarded as a consummate clinician and teacher, and in his essay, he laments problems he already saw affecting medical practice, such as the overvaluation of science relative to clinical medicine and a diminishing spirit of attentiveness to the most deeply human needs of patients. He deals in an especially astute and compassionate way with the care of patients suffering from what is now known as somatization disorder. Peabody's essay has been widely anthologized, is often an assigned reading for medical students, and has been revered by practitioners and students for almost 100 years. But times are changing . . .