The clinical method is defined as the means by which doctors gather information about their patients, think about and evaluate these medical facts, and enter the facts into their process of care. Its key components are the medical history, including the process by which it is acquired from patients and its subsequent documentation in the medical record, as well as the physical examination. Characteristics, such as the reproducibility and accuracy of various components, are discussed with a reference to prevailing opinions of subjectivity and objectivity in medicine. It is argued that as a consequence of a shift in the prevalence of illness, from acute to chronic conditions, a misalignment exists between the clinical method currently taught and contemporary medicine. It is suggested that a renewed and repurposed clinical method must incorporate enhanced strategies for functional assessments.