Do not miss the 25th WONCA Europe Conference in Berlin - part 3
Dear GP/FM colleagues,
Do not miss the 25th WONCA Europe Conference that will be held in Berlin, Germany on June 24 - 27, 2020..
Meet WONCA Europe 2020 Keynote Speakers
Interview with Ron Sabar
Why will the largest hospitals in the near future won’t have beds of their own?
The world populaton is growing in numbers and especially growing dramaticaly in age. 'Brick and Mortar' hospitals in many countries, already cannot meet the need for hospital beds, and all indicators show that there is no real prospect that they will be able to meet the medical needs of the very immidiate future generations. Besides the physical lack of space and infrastructure, hospitals have proven to be an unsafe environment for patients, especially the old and frail. Nosocomial-multi drug-resistant infections, falling and cognitive deterioration have all been identified as common risks that hospitalizied patients are exposed to. Studies show that about 25% of patients are re-admitted within a month of their discharge. Traditional hospitals should focus on the treatment of patients in need of an operation, high-end diagnostics or intensive care. All other patients who do not have to be in a hospital-must have the option not to be admited into one. The only medicaly-humane-financialy-sound option to meet the medical needs in the future, is by developing a robust Hospital@Home infrastrcture and service. Just as the largest taxi company in the world has no taxi cars of it's own (Uber) and the largest hotel company in the world, has no hotel rooms of it's own (Airbnb), so would the largest hospitals in the near future, will have no hospital beds of their own. 200 years ago the the pendulum of place of treatment has shifted from the home to the hospital, nowdays, medicine is going back home, or rather to the homes of our patients.
Which role do family physicians play in the process of growing home care and what does this mean for our core values?
The only way by which Hospitals@Home can be a true option on a national grand-scale and not only as a local small scale endevour, is by encorporating family physicans as part of the home hospital team, so they can home-hospitalize their own patients. An infrastructure of telemedice, home based imaging and laboratory tests and the ability to consult in real-time with specialists, are all esentials in order to support primary care physicians in providing hospital-level medicine to their patients at home. Obviously, if clinical indicators show that a certein patient is detoriorating, a rapid access to hospital care, should be allowed.
Who is "the professional guest“ and how is he charactarized?
The Professional Guest is a term that we coined to distinct the unique qualities that we believe are essential in order to practice good medicine in our patient's homes, rather then when taking care of them in our hospitals or clinics. When taking care of patients in their own homes, we are first and for most, their guests. We are usualy wellcomed, and sometimes even their lives depend on us, but still, we are their guests. We have identified four unique traits that turn health care personnel into Professional Guests. I will talk about these four traits in my keynote talk at WONCA.
Could you give us some examples of successfull home care?
To be exact, there are usualy three levels of intensity in treating patients at home. The basic level is Home Visit, in which there is no prior aquaintance between the physician and the patient, the purpose of the visit is to answer an imidiate medical need and there is no planned 'follow up' afterwards. The second level is Home Care, which should allow for a primary care clinic level of medicine and continuos care, at home. This is usually offered for chronic-home-bound patients. The third level of care is Home Hospital or Hospital@Home in which care is given at a hospital level medicine at home, to patients that otherwise would have been hospitalized. In this case, patients are sometimes monitored, there is a daily visit by a physician and a nurse, and blood tests and basic imaging are done at home. There are many countries around the world where Home Visit and Home Care are practiced with great success. True Hospital@Home on the other hand, is practiced in only a handfull of countries and even then, to date, it's still done on a small scale. For example, I am the medical director of Sabar Health, which is the largest home hospital service in Israel, caring for about 1100 patients at any one time, nation-wide, in their own homes in four distinct home-wards: Hospice, Rehabilitation, Psychiatry and acute Internal Medicine. Out of the 1100 patients, only a few tens are true Hospital@Home acute patients, but even then, this is the largest scale operation of it's kind in the world, that we are aware of.
What expectations do you have for the WONCA Conference in Berlin?
I hope to 'open a window' to, what I believe will be the main foci of care in the very near future and to have an opportunity to have an open discussion with fellow family physicans, on our role in this evolution.
Early Registration Deadline: January 5th , 2020
We are pleased to announce that you can now register online.
Select your registration fee, pay before January 5th , 2020 and benefit from the early registration fee.
> Register Now
Abstract Submission Deadline: January 10th , 2020
Submit your abstract today and be a part of this great Conference!
Forms of presentations
• State of the art session
• Workshop
• WONCA Symposium
• Oral: Workshop report from the practice
• Oral: Science Slam
• Oral: Lecture
• Oral: 1 Slide – 5 minutes lecture
• Case presentation by young doctors
• Poster: Poster on paper + ePoster, ePoster only
> Submit Now
Proposals for Workshop from networks and SIGs
On behalf of WONCA Europe 2020 Scientific Committee we are very proud to inform You, we recieved many proposals from WONCA scientific networks and SIGs by now and their proposals promise to present actual state of art of FM/GP. These abstracts did not go through the usual peer-review process but were considered by Scientific Committee.
Programme at a Glance
Programme at a glance is available on the Conference website.
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Berlin Television Tower (Fernsehturm) - Volume 3
The Berlin Television Tower, which is known to locals as the Fernsehturm, and is instantly recognisable from the distance, stand outs of the skyline at 368m, making it the tallest building in Berlin. Built in the 1960s, visitors to the tower can enjoy a unique 360° panorama of the city. Tip: Visit the TV Tower with the Berlin Welcome Card and save up to 25 per cent. The Berlin WelcomeCard enables free travelling with all public transport services to the Berlin visitors. With over 200 partners and outstanding discounts the Berlin WelcomeCard offers you a complete "carefree“ package.