Standardized patients: a new method to assess the clinical skills of physicians.

A growing concern about the deterioration of the clinical skills of physicians has stimulated a renewed interest in the teaching and assessment of these skills. Standardized patients can be an effective means to teach or assess a physician's competence in clinical skills, such as history taking, physical examination, and patient-physician interaction skills. This article will describe this new method and delineate its emerging role in medical school education, residency training, and its potential role in continuing education and quality assurance for practicing physicians within a managed care setting.