Kolkata hosts third international conference on Advanced Clinical Medicine

The two-day programme, being held at Hyatt Regency, is themed along the broader aspects of general medicine, even though it will cover most of the subspecialties.

This is an era of super-specialisation. In country like India, patients, their relatives or some well wishers often decide which specialist a patient should see without understanding that there may be many overlapping symptoms for many unrelated conditions.

Years back, most of us would have access to the family physicians who provided guidance as to where to seek appropriate medical help. Presently, there is an acute shortage of not only family physicians but also of specialists in general medicine.

This results in patients visiting wrong specialists leading to an unnecessary wastage of limited and valuable resources. Most importantly, very precious time may be lost in arriving at a correct diagnosis.

“The principal aim of this conference is to attract a large number of postgraduate trainee doctors and provide them a platform where there will be exchange of knowledge and ideas between various subspecialties of medicine. The specialists will have the opportunity to refresh their knowledge beyond their area of expertise,” said Dr. Sujit Kar Purkayastha, Managing Director of Peerless Hospital, and one of the organising committee members.

The panel discussion will have valuable takeaways, said Dr. Sujit Kar Purkayastha.

“We know that while many new technologies are marketed aggressively, we often ignore the cost-benefit ratio of these. The patients are not often told or explained the marginal benefits and may not necessarily benefit from the use of such technologies. A huge financial hardship may result, taking a toll on the family of the patient. The discussion will invite questions from the audience on this subject,” he said.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Prof. Sandip Chatterjee, consultant and head of neurosurgery, Vivekananda Institute of Medical Sciences. Speakers will be: Prof. Sukumar Mukherjee, Mr. Jawhar Sircar, Prof. Sunil Bhandari, Mr. Alapan Bandyopadhaya, Prof. Krishnangshu Ray.

Prof. Derek Bell, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh will be one of the key international attendees at the programme. The college has been a seat of learning for doctors from all over the world for many centuries, and has many illustrious names associated with its rich history.