Health care reform, the patient-centered medical home, and the impact of environmental change on global health are just a few of the topics to be discussed at the Internal Medicine 2009 Medicine 2009 in Philadelphia this week.
Health care reform, the patient-centered medical home, and the impact of environmental change on global health are just a few of the topics to be discussed at the Internal Medicine 2009 Medicine 2009 in Philadelphia this week.
High on the minds of physicians attending this year’s meeting is how the new administration’s decisions on health care will affect their practice. Ideally, the planned reform would help improve their daily care of patients and foster unique opportunities for all health care professionals; however, the issues surrounding health care and the potential financial burdens could be too overwhelming for the current administration to resolve.
These concerns and others will be discussed in a presentation on Thursday (April 23) “New Ideas for Reforming the U.S. Health Care System: What Can Be Done to Improve Access, Quality, and Efficiency of Care?” and in panel discussions held on Friday (April 24) and Saturday (April 25).
Is it time that you consider the patient-centered medical home? A panel discussion on Thursday (April 23) will discuss this health care setting. This care model facilitates partnerships between individual patients, their personal physicians, and when appropriate, the patient’s family to ensure that patients get the indicated care when and where they need and want it.
On Saturday, the environment’s impact on illness and wellness will be discussed. How to identify, manage, and prevent environment-related illness and drug-resistance patterns following environmental change will also be described.
Among the many other topics covered are violence in the patient’s home, successful aging, ethical challenges, and health care disparities. Spirituality in end-of-life care and literature in medicine will no doubt encourage some debate and discussion. Dr Harold Sox’s keynote address about the future of medical journal publishing will surely be of great interest to many in the audience, including-but not limited to-the editors of Consultant.