Merging technical skills with patient relations is part of a longstanding effort to control the degree to which medical care is personalized. Factors include the healthcare worker's overall attitude, availability, and bedside manner; their way of listening, asking and answering questions, providing (or withholding) information, making decisions, prescribing treatments, and handling bodily contact. Far more than grace notes, such human touches help maintain a delicate balance between objectivity, advocacy, and compassion in the care provided.