Does minimal access mean minimal relationship? Defining the physician-patient relationship in postmodern culture.

Minimal access surgery is a good example of medicine in the postmodern era. It embodies the problems we see in both medicine and society that affect the way physicians and patients interact. The purpose of this article is to evaluate and assess the impact of these factors on the focused relationship between the physician and patient. We will discuss how minimal access surgery may be the start of a "new medicine" to benefit both patient and physician.