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Vital Signs

Then & Now

A reminder of the pace of change, and of timeless truths, from the Fall 1982 issue of this magazine:

In an article titled "Modern Medicine and Human Values," Dr. Gene Stollerman, DC '41, wrote: "The dehumanization of medicine by medical technology and the organization of our health care make it at times virtually impossible to establish and sustain a prolonged doctor-patient relationship. The patient is faced with . . . a succession of specialists for each of his body systems, for each member of his family, and for each type of care."

49
Number of references to "doctor-patient relationship" today on DMS websites

Year One
When DMS students begin "exploring firsthand the doctor-patient relationship"

A reminder of the pace of change, and of timeless truths, from 1943's Fifty Years of Service, a history of Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital:

"On May 18, 1893, a girl of 13 . . . was admitted to the Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, the doors of which had been opened a few days before. Her difficulty was noted as 'hip joint disease.' . . . After a period of observation, an operation was performed, from which she made a slow recovery. On August 8 she was discharged with the notation 'improved.' This was case No. 1 in the records of the Hospital. In the 50 years which have since elapsed, some 74,000 sufferers from one physical ailment or another have followed in her train."

21,254
Number of inpatients discharged from DHMC in 2005 alone


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