The physical exam aids differential diagnosis and is unlikely to be replaced by new technology. It is important in resource-poor settings and in the litigious U.S., and it fosters a trusting and therapeutic patient-doctor relationship.
Physicians can help reduce the large number of patients who do not take their prescription drugs due to the high cost by proactively discussing the topic of drug costs during the clinical encounter and developing a plan for assistance.
A discussion of a film that explores the effect that lack of physical touch and language has on the health of a child and how a physician can play in giving children the personal attention they may need.
A review of research that found that physicians disciplined by state medical boards were as much as three times more likely than controls to have had a record of unprofessional behavior in medical school.