No branch of medicine has made more progress in recent decades than intensive care. Technological developments to overcome single-organ failure (for example, the development of respirators and extracorporeal oxygenation to treat acute lung failure); improvements in pharmacotherapy based on a better understanding of the underlying pathophysiology; and new or improved monitoring systems to monitor organ function and help direct therapies are all significant advances.

The introduction of the iron lung for the treatment of respiratory failure associated with polio in the 1920s marked the beginning of modern intensive care medicine. By applying suction (negative) pressure around the trunk, this expands the lungs with each breath. The availability of artificial airway tubes and positive-pressure ventilators, which deliver air directly into the patient's airways, was the next critical step. These arose from the needs of modern surgery in order to improve anaesthesia control during operations. The new ventilation techniques, which were initially used only on surgical patients, benefited intensive care medicine.

Even though acute respiratory failure is one of the three major issues in modern intensive care medicine, along with circulatory failure and severe infection, the representation of respiratory medicine in intensive care is relatively low in some countries.

In the coming years, intensive care medicine is likely to account for an increasing proportion of hospitalised patients' care in nearly all medical fields. It will be a significant, if not the most significant, economic factor for all hospitals. Intensive care medicine is likely to become even more specialised. Aside from the traditional management of acute and life-threatening complex problems in traditional intensive care units with high staffing ratios and modern technical equipment, a significant increase in the number of intermediate care units treating organ-specific problems is likely. Respiratory intermediate care units, like coronary care units and stroke units, focus on respiratory failure.