Thursday, October 22, 2015

11:00 AM - 11:55 AM

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Overview

PROFESSOR RICHARD ROBERTS, Wisconsin, USA : Better Health for all - how rural family doctors can save Health Care and the World

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Details

Professor Roberts was Past Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health in Madison. A family physician and attorney who has practiced since 1987 in Belleville, a rural community of 2000. He is also a Past President of the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), AAFP Foundation, Wisconsin Medical Society, and Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians.Prof Roberts was Founder and Chair of the SOAR (Six Organizations to Advance the Renewal of Family Medicine) International Colloquium, which brought together representatives from Australia, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States for a week in Toronto in September 2006 to discuss and redesign the future of Family Medicine. Doctor Roberts led U.S. delegations that studied primary health care in Brazil, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam. He has been a consultant to the governments of Brazil, Canada, Oman, and Saudi Arabia and to companies such as Google and United Health Group on health system reform and primary care redesign................... A large and growing body of evidence demonstrates consistently that health care systems based on Family Medicine and primary health care have better outcomes and lower costs than specialist-dominant systems. Despite these data, student interest in primary care careers has fluctuated, the viability of primary care practice has been threatened, and the morale of primary care clinicians has suffered. Indeed, some have questioned whether primary care can, or should, survive. The nature of global health is changing. There has been a shift from communicable to chronic disease; from vertical programs to horizontal systems. These changes create extraordinary opportunities and challenges for primary care. Using examples from around the world, this session will describe the special contributions made by rural family doctors and primary care to better advance global health. In this address, Professor Roberts aims for participants to be able to • Explain the value of primary care as the foundation for health care anywhere in the world. • Identify the 2 key assets and attributes of primary care. • Describe why rural family doctors and primary are more likely to accomplish the 4 Ps of effective health care.