We are holding a unique three-day conference focusing on how to improve and integrate the treatment and prevention of long term disease. There will be an optional fourth day for site visits to integrative projects.
Aimed at all clinicians, especially those involved in trying to improve health care services, and patients themselves, this conference will go beyond conventional thinking. It will explore ways in which clinicians and health systems can become more effective in tackling long term disease.
Message from HRH The Prince of Wales
A conference that focuses on new approaches to the treatment and prevention of long term disease is long overdue.
The conference will explore how medicine and the environment in which we live must change if we are to have a serious chance of combating the “silent epidemic” of long term disease. In the UK, for instance, 80% of consultations with a doctor are for long term conditions and they remain on the increase making their treatment unaffordable if things stay the same.
We recognize that in every therapeutic encounter it is the dyad between patient and therapist that is most readily understood and a vital area upon which sustainable medical development must be based. It is these soft skills that form the foundation of effective therapy and cost effective interventions resulting in patient centered empowerment in the long term management of chronic conditions.
Our main agenda and focus is the development of culturally appropriate and sustainable person and community centered medicine. This will prioritize not only what the patient wants and needs but also will go beyond the individual, taking into consideration the needs and wants of those living in and delivering healthcare at every level within the community.
Increasing affluence and ageing populations have brought with them a rapid and sustained increase in the prevalence of long term disease. It is now essential that a united alliance of governmental and non-governmental agencies, clinicians and all stakeholders lay the groundwork that will enable a coherent and sustainable management plan to deal with this problem.