Such dinner party conversation is commonplace. What then is the value of the doctor-patient relationship? There is good evidence that being an empathetic and friendly physician capable of presenting even difficult medical advise in a positive and supportive manner is likely to produce a better medical outcome than the formal, reserved, and impersonal consultative effort many patients have experienced. A friendly and positive manner and style of care, however, must not be allowed in lieu of competent medical care (i.e., Dr. Bob) but rather in support of it. Business schools and medical schools have distorted the whole issue of the doctor-patient relationship by suggesting that the patient is first and foremost a consumer or customer. Physicians offer a product, but patients require much more than a pill that fits well. At the University of Arizona medical students study horse body language to hopefully learn a more effective bedside manner. Soon enough, some U of A graduate will toss a rope around a patient’s neck and take her to the OR for a hysterectomy. I just love medical educators. The doctor-patient relationship is an ever-changing and unique cultural entity requiring medical, social, and communicative skills on the part of not only the physician but also the patient. To make the relationship even more complicated, both the neurosurgeon and the ladies at dinner are only human. Let’s do lunch and practice a little medicine.