Healthcare | Thursday 28 May, 2015 2:28 pm |

The International Family Medicine scientific committee, along with the organizing committee, met today with representatives from over 50 companies over an ‘innovative family medicine’ networking lunch that took place at Jumeirah Emirates Towers. The purpose of the meeting was to promote Innovation and Research in the Family Medicine sector, and to discuss possible ways of mutual collaborations during IFM’s coming edition that is scheduled to take place from 19 – 21 April, 2016 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The innovative family medicine networking lunch served as a great opportunity for the participating companies to build stronger partnerships with current and potential clients, to unveil and promote new products and services, and to broaden their local & global customer base. The meeting witnessed the participation of experts and professionals from pharmaceutical companies, diagnostic kits and reagents manufactures and distributors, primary healthcare hospitals, educational institutes, health risk management, public and community health, rehabilitation centers, and medical tourism facilitators.

On the sidelines of the meeting, the scientific committee has announced the themes of IFM 2016 that will include: Medical Tourism, Health Well-being, Respiratory Disease in Primary Healthcare, Cardiovascular Disease in Primary Healthcare, How to Fight against Obesity, Mother and Child Health, Mental Health, Innovation in Primary Healthcare, and Geriatric.

In this context, Dr. Ibtesam Al Bastaki, Chairperson of the IFM Conference said: “The International Family Medicine Conference & Exhibition (IFM), is established to create an ultimate forum for family physicians and other health care professionals from different sectors of the health care industry. It is a meeting point for knowledge transfer and networking among family physicians, scientist, researchers, paramedical, other professionals, product specialist, decisions makers, trade visitors and academia.”

Dr. Ibtesam Al Bastaki added: “Preventive care and early detection is the future of healthcare. Family medicine focuses on comprehensive and continuous care of the individual, family, and community. The primary healthcare is a holistic care which the patient can seek under one single roof, it’s varied from single simple disease to specialty care from NCD (non-communicable disease), woman health, child health as well as geriatric and palliative care.”

And she concluded: “The future of medicine lies in empowering the family physician, to help him or her to focus on preventive care and early detection, through a screening program that cater to the community. This is the trajectory of primary healthcare.”

It is worth mentioning that in its previous edition, the International Family Medicine Conference and Exhibition has witnessed the participation of 34 professional speakers, and it included 10 scientific sessions and 42 scientific posters. IFM 2015 attracted over 2000 visitors and participants through its three days. It has become a vital platform for professional interaction and scientific discourse amongst healthcare specialists and practitioners to develop healthcare services in medical facilities, to keep up with global developments and to discuss various common diseases.

The International Family Medicine Conference & Exhibition is held under the patronage of his Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance and President of the Dubai Health Authority. IFM is organized yearly by Index Conferences and Exhibitions Organisation Est. – member of INDEX Holding, and it is supported by Ministry of Health in the UAE, Dubai Health Authority, Global Scientific Healthcare Alliance – Family Medicine Educational Council, Health Ministers Council for Gulf Cooperation Council, International Hospital Federation, Anti-Smoking International Alliance, INDEX Healthcare Management, and Dubai Sports Council.