Clinimetrics in stroke research.

WHAT distinguishes clinical medicine from biomedicine? Most physicians would probably agree that in their daily clinical work they rely not only on biomedical but also on humane qualities. Many patients express a concern that the humanistic aspects of medicine are overshadowed by mechanistic ideas, which they feel have come to dominate much of the medical community. At the same time, there is little doubt among physicians and laymen that the contributions of biomedicine to medical care have been most impressive and fruitful. To phrase it in biological terms, clinical medicine and biomedicine do not act as competitive inhibitors; instead, they exert synergistic effects. Why is it that biomedicine has come to dominate clinical medicine? Even if medical care is influenced by a great number of external factors, scientific development is unquestionably a major determinant. In the scientific sphere, the proliferation and quality of biomedicine has been so overwhelming that it has ruled much of the recent development of clinical medicine.