Mechanizing medicine - Tomorrows history started yesterday.

History is by nature a retrospective subject, there usually being an interval between any event, a review or impact of the subject being considered. This NPSA Historian's paper, takes a long and quick historical view of influences that fostered changes resulting in the current state of affairs in the field of medicine and medical care. The fields of medicine and surgery, are undergoing rapid changes as a result of technological and other advances that are making tomorrow's medical history seemingly happening yesterday. Prospectively, the impact of current change and its rapidity has the potential to radically change the future practice of the art and craft of our profession.