How do we promote general practice perspectives? This congress will focus on this topic through the following main themes:
Theme 1: Core values and principles in family medicine
Keynote speaker: Family medicine specialist Anna Stavdal, University lecturer and President-Elect WONCA Europe
‘Continuity of care’ and ‘knowledge of the patient’ are key values for GPs. Knowing the patient and family members over a long time allows the GP to interpret symptoms of disease and treatment options in a wider context than the purely biomedical model.
- Which other values are also important to consider?
- How do these values interplay with the role of general practice in the healthcare system?
- Why are these core values important?
Theme 2: Multimorbidity among vulnerable populations – the role of general practice
Keynote speaker: Professor Stewart Mercer, University of Glasgow, Scotland
Primary care forms the backbone of health care in most high-income countries, but increasing management of chronic disease combined with numerous content and delivery changes have forced higher workloads on GPs. Patients with morbidity are often socially vulnerable and economically deprived. This theme will focus on the challenges of multimorbid and vulnerable populations and their relation to the GP.
- How can we tackle the workload crisis in general practice?
- How can we provide better care for vulnerable populations?
- Are relations and continuity important in the quality of primary care? Are relations and continuity important to the multimorbid and vulnerable patient?
- What would happen if we did not have primary care in the healthcare system?
Theme 3: Ethical use of data
Keynote speaker: Professor Frank Sullivan, University of St. Andrews, Scotland
Collection of healthcare data has provided unique opportunities for research into the most significant fields of human health. It is also a requisite for developing general practice and optimal handling of disease. However, data use poses an ethical challenge for healthcare privacy, and this remains a significant barrier.
- How do we define what are ‘important data’ in general practice? Why are these data important?
- How do we ensure that the doctor-patient confidentiality is not compromised?
- How do we transform data into excellent research?
- How do we distinguish between unintended variations in quality-indicator data and intended individualized patient care?
- What is the status? What lies ahead in this field?
Theme 4: Person-centred medicine in a person-centred context
Keynote speaker: Professor Gorm Greisen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Clinical guidelines deal with a single disease and take a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Personalised medicine considers genetic makeup, exposure, personality and individual expectations. Big data will soon be used for diagnostic tools and research, but clinical data are already being collected in the general practice setting.
- What is personalised medicine?
- How can new achievements inspire the diagnosis and treatment of patients in primary care?
- How will personalised medicine affect general practice in the future?
- Which ethical challenges and pressures will the GPs meet?
Theme 5: Wellbeing for GPs and practice staff
Keynote speaker: Professor Reidar Tyssen, University of Oslo, Norway
Job satisfaction and subjective wellbeing among GPs and practice staff has been the focus in many studies in recent years. These suggest that there are problems with workload, burnout and work-related stress.
- How is the wellbeing and health of GPs and practice staff in primary care?
- Which factors impact wellbeing and health?
- What are the personal consequences of prolonged work-related stress?
- How do we increase job satisfaction and wellbeing in general practice?
Theme 6: Changing practices and behaviour
General practice is governed by an array of regulations and clinical guidelines, and healthcare professionals are expected to incorporate new knowledge quickly. However, time constraints and the considerable amount of information may challenge compliance to policies and specifications. How do we select the most pertinent research results and translate these into clinical guidelines to improve medical practice?
- How do we select new information for future clinical guidelines and standards?
- Which factors do we need to focus on when implementing new knowledge?
- Which conditions are necessary for successful implementation of new knowledge?
- What lies ahead?