2nd International Family Medicine Conference

Family Medicine Central to Effective Delivery of Health Care in Developing Countries

Family medicine’s central role in the effective and efficient delivery of health care to the burgeoning populations of developing countries was highlighted by experts of national and international repute at the inaugural session of the three-day 2nd International Family Medicine Conference at AKU in February 2005.

Family medicine experts at the international conference organised in February 2005.

Titled ‘Strengthening the Central Role of Family Medicine in Health Care’, the conference was organised by AKU’s Department of Family Medicine in collaboration with the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA), Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), UK, and College of Family Medicine, Pakistan. Participants, which included physicians from Pakistan and other Asian countries as well as Australia, East Africa, the Middle East, UK and USA, explored issues pertinent to family medicine in relation to clinical care, preventive care, continuing medical education, research and development of leadership skills.

Welcoming the guests, Dr Mohammad Khurshid, Dean, AKU Medical College, pointed out that “it is generally recognised in both developed and developing countries that the quality of family medicine practice can play a central role in the improvement of health care delivery to every section of the population in a caring and cost-effective way.”

In his introductory address, Dr Riaz Qureshi, Chair, Department of Family Medicine, AKU, said that the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified certain major barriers to equitable health care in developing countries:  unequal access to prevention and care, rising costs of health care, inefficient delivery systems and lack of emphasis on generalist training. Dr Qureshi added that WHO has duly acknowledged the family medicine practitioner as “a physician who will play a central role in overcoming these barriers.”

Dr Garth Manning, Medical Director of RCGP’s International Development Programme, explained that a health care system oriented towards family medicine is associated with “lower costs, higher satisfaction of the population with health care services, better health levels and lower medication use.” Dr Manning also highlighted the dynamics of RCGP’s mutually beneficial partnership with the University.

Stressing the need to equip doctors with the skills required for effective health care delivery in the 21st century, Dr Valerie Vass, Professor, Community-Based Medical Education, University of Manchester, UK, highlighted factors that are driving change in the world of medicine. These, she said, include globalisation and a sense of patient empowerment, ethics and accountability, adding that the new century entailed greater focus on the patient than disease, good communication skills, and the ability to handle uncertainty and risk through professionalism.

Describing the modalities of a “culturally sensitive consultation model”, Dr Jill Benson from University of Adelaide, Australia, suggested recognising the patient as “the expert in his or her culture and using respect and curiosity as a way of moving through the consultation.” At the same time, health literacy on the part of the patient was vital in terms of “decreasing fear and increasing health options.”

Other speakers included Dr Waquas Waheed from the UK, AKU President Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, Dr David Taylor, Acting Provost, AKU, and Drs Nadir Ali Syed, Gaffar Billoo, Badar Sabir Ali, Javed Rizvi, Murad Moosa Khan, Khawar Kazmi, Abdul Jabbar, Rosslynne Freeman and Rukhsana Zuberi of AKU.

The AKU Chancellor and Trustees actively encouraged the establishment of Pakistan’s first structured family medicine residency programme, along with the incorporation of family medicine principles in the undergraduate programme of the Medical College. Established as a Section of the Community Health Sciences Department in 1994, family medicine became an independent clinical department at AKU in 2003.