Compassion: its neglect and importance.

Dose it matter that personal care of one doctor to one patient is being diluted by larger teams with increased delegation of work? In arguing that it does, this paper focuses on compassion, 'fellow feeling which is likely to be expressed'. General practitioner morale, patient satisfaction, and clinical medicine are examined, and teleology, game theory, and 'psycho-immuno endocrinology' touched upon, to come to the paper's conclusion, which is to call for the resuscitation of the 'Personal Doctor'.