Written by a highly respected medical historian, this book examines how and why medical caring-including the role of touch and procedure in caregiving-has evolved in recent decades and how these changes have affected doctor-patient trust as well as patient health and the "health" of the current medical system. * Draws on medical history since the early 19th century to demonstrate how the procedural aspects of medicine are foundational to trusting doctor-patient relationships * Examines how the diminished authority of physicians as decision makers and consumerization of medical services have complicated caregiving * Provides concrete proposals for reinvigorating primary care medicine by developing a new primary care specialty and making better use of nurse practitioners and other nonphysician providers