ABSTRACT
The well-documented studies of medicine in the Western tradition are found in ancient Greece and include Eristratus’ investigations of anatomy and the empiricists’ focus on identifying successful therapies by reviewing past experience. Doctors were expected to apply scientific methods to healthcare and the growth of large public hospitals gave them a laboratory for the study of sick people. Nurses became professionalised and an important part of the healthcare system. Medical schools were integrated with hospitals, specialist clinics and specialist doctors became more normal and healthcare practices were based increasingly on scientific knowledge. The new kind of doctoring was characterised by careful history-taking, physical examination and the use of an increasing range of diagnostic tools including thermometers, microscopes, stethoscopes, x-rays and electro-cardiographs. All of these found their way into the general practitioner’s toolkit and designers should reflect on the way that this widespread use of scientific tools gave patients reassurance and a feeling that their illness was important.
