Medical textbooks could support this improvement by functioning as educational resources and as reference material. Helpful information was rare, and only prognostication and medical treatments to alter the course of the disease were usually mentioned. Harrison's Textbook of Medicine , The Merck Manual , and Scientific American Medicine often mentioned at least a few of the domains in each disease, although not often in a way that would guide a clinician.
Improvement seems possible.
Ann Intern Med. 2175 K Street, NW, Suite 820, Washington, DC 20037. 2175 K Street, NW, Suite 820, Washington, DC 20037. By a grant from the Open Society Institute, Project on Death in America.