{"id":11768,"date":"2018-10-17T15:39:41","date_gmt":"2018-10-17T14:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Inaugural-Remarks-WMA-GA-2018-revised.pdf"},"modified":"2018-10-17T15:39:41","modified_gmt":"2018-10-17T14:39:41","slug":"inaugural-remarks-wma-ga-2018-revised-2","status":"inherit","type":"attachment","link":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/fr\/actualites-et-presse\/speeches-talks-interviews\/inaugural-remarks-wma-ga-2018-revised-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Inaugural Remarks WMA GA 2018 revised"},"author":17,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"acf":[],"description":{"rendered":"

Inaugural Remarks WMA GA 2018 revised<\/a><\/p>\n

1
\nRemarks \u2013 WMA, Iceland
\nLadies and gentlemen, my dear colleagues,
\nWhen I attended the General Assembly for the first time, 9 years ago in New Delhi, I was
\noverwhelmed by the presence of so many prominent leaders of medicine from all over the world.
\nSince then, every time I participate in WMA events, I feel deep appreciation and admire your
\nsapient leadership, vision and commitment to our profession, its goals and values.
\nDear distinguished delegates, your activity within WMA and everyone’s participation in his or her
\nNMA, inspires and enlightens me.
\nI have had the great privilege of getting to know you over the last years and I hope to meet many
\nmore of you over the next year.
\nEach one of you is shaping the future of healthcare and is furthering his or her nation\u2019s
\nwellbeing. We all have great challenges and together we can accomplish a great deal on behalf of
\nour patients.
\nIt is my great honor to stand before you as the President of the World Medical Association.
\nBefore I continue, I want to acknowledge our outgoing President, Dr. Yoshitake Yokokura, who
\ncontributed greatly to the physicians of the world.
\nThank you, Dr. Yoshitake Yokokura for your service to the WMA.
\nOver the years, I have come to realize that the WMA is one of the most important organizations
\nfor physicians worldwide, with unique strengths to meet the challenges of our medical profession
\nas well as to help NMAs in need. In addition, the WMA assists in instructing the individual
\nphysician, and guiding him or her in this rapidly changing world.
\nWe live in an extremely challenging period. The changes we witness daily seem incomprehensible
\nand the pace of these changes is increasing constantly.
\n2
\nI believe that it is the time for WMA to take a sophisticated, scientific and innovative look to the
\nfuture and to help both physicians and patients become prepared for the huge changes in medicine
\nover the next decade.
\nAre we prepared for the future?
\nWe can, and to my mind, we should, embark on a critical venture to predict how medicine will
\nlook in 2030, what will be the role of a physician, physicians’ organizations and what can be done
\nto spur significant positive changes.
\nI ask to dedicate my year of presidency to this agenda.
\nIt is our mandate as leaders, since an effective leader is one who creates an inspiring vision of the
\nfuture.
\nWorking on this agenda I believe that three kinds of scenarios are to be developed: one that reflects
\nmaximal possible changes, another one for minimal changes and the third- the middle one.
\nThe predictable societal changes, technological changes, changes in the role of a physician, and in
\npatients’ preferences should be addressed.
\nThe goal will be to develop a report that can help physicians and NMAs become prepared for the
\nfuture.
\nWhat will be the role of a physician in 2030?
\nIn 1903, more than one hundred years ago, the future for Thomas Edison as he predicted was \u00ab\u00a0The
\ndoctor \u2026 (who) will give no medicine, but instruct his patient in the care of the human frame, in
\ndiet and in the cause and prevention of disease\u00a0\u00bb
\nToday, we can predict that the future world of medicine will be a world of electronic health records,
\nrobots, artificial intelligence and machine learning as well as highly developed communication
\nmeans.
\n3
\nHowever, moving to a future of medicine is probably like driving on a country road with its ruts,
\nconvolutions and unexpected turns rather than driving on a highway. Recent problems with the
\nWatson supercomputer demonstrate that.
\n\u00ab\u00a0A new study from MIT computer scientists, suggests that human doctors provide a dimension
\nthat, as yet, artificial intelligence does not\u00a0\u00bb. They have found that a physician\u2019s \u00ab\u00a0gut feeling\u00a0\u00bb plays
\na significant role in the intensive care unit. (Lagasse J.
\nhttps:\/\/www.healthcarefinancenews.com\/news\/artificial-intelligence-cant-replace-doctors-gut-
\ninstincts-mit-study-says). As researcher Mohammad Ghassemi said: \u00ab\u00a0there is something about a
\ndoctor’s experience and their years of training and practice, that allows them to know in a more
\ncomprehensive sense, beyond just the list of symptoms, whether you are doing well or you are
\nnot\u00a0\u00bb.
\nWe can predict that physicians will provide integrated care as members of multidisciplinary teams
\nand will perform more complex tasks in an increasingly complex work environment, although the
\nquestion remains: who will be the leaders of these teams?
\nBut there is another factor that must be addressed in order to effectively propel medicine into the
\nnext decades.
\nToday, at the time I am speaking on this highly-respected podium, more than 10 million physicians
\nall over the world take care of those in need of medical help and nearly half of them have symptoms
\nof burnout defined as emotional exhaustion, interpersonal disengagement, and a low sense of
\npersonal accomplishment. Besides a physician’s well-being, burnout negatively influences the
\nquality of care and shortens the life-time a physician is able to practice medicine.
\nThis is a great problem for society suffering from a shortage of physicians, which is common in
\nmost countries of the world.
\n4
\nIn the future of universal health coverage there is a need for a growing number of burnout-free
\nphysicians.
\nThe pandemic of physician burnout, caused, among other things, by very dynamic and changing
\nworking conditions, is a subject I believe we should address.
\nThe quality and safety of patient care depend on high-functioning physicians. This is particularly
\nchallenging in our extremely rapidly changing world.
\nThe wellbeing of physicians, both mentally and physically, has been on the agenda of some NMAs
\nfor several decades. Some resources have been invested to explore and move things forward on
\nthis issue; however, the real objective of combatting this blow to modern medicine has yet to be
\nachieved.
\n\u00ab\u00a0Physicians are dealing with an incredible amount of work stress as they confront growing
\nadministrative burden, rising operating costs, new technology and an increasing patient demand
\nfor frontline care. Physician burnout is a symptom of a larger problem – a healthcare system that
\nincreasingly overworks doctors and undervalues their health needs. \u00a0\u00bb (Teresa Iafolla.
\nhttps:\/\/blog.evisit.com\/prevent-physician-burnout)
\nThat is why according to the new Declaration of Geneva that was adopted by our General
\nAssembly in Chicago a year ago, a physician pledges to attend to his own health, well-being and
\nabilities in order to provide care of the highest standard.
\nWhile preparing for the future, there is a place to develop recommendations for physicians all over
\nthe world to keep this important part of the pledge. Physicians are an indispensable resource of
\nevery society; burn out of this resource endangers the society.
\nI believe we must draw from our combined experiences and learn best practices.
\n5
\nAn additional issue that cannot be separated from planning the future is the role of the physician
\nin contemporary society.
\nPhysicians have been traditionally conservative. For years the practice of medicine followed long-
\nstanding traditions. \u00ab\u00a0A physician possessed a unique body of knowledge to use in the care of
\npatients. This kind of the doctor-patient interaction was paramount and served as the foundation
\nof a personal, caring relationship\u00a0\u00bb. (Wartman S.A. http:\/\/www.aahcdc.org\/Publications-
\nResources\/Series\/Nota-Bene\/View\/ArticleId\/20829\/The-Role-of-the-Physician-in-21st-Century-
\nHealthcare). But the forces changing 21st century society and medicine are transforming this
\ntradition. Physicians should be prepared both mentally and technologically to meet new demands.
\nI believe that WMA has a capacity to help individual physicians in this challenging process.
\nThe role of NMAs is also under significant pressure as a result of societal changes. The WMA is
\nthe only body to explore this process and develop recommendations that can help NMAs to evolve
\ntheir future strategies.
\nNotwithstanding any future changes, patients and physicians will continue to exist, and we will
\ncontinue to honor our social contract.
\n\u00ab\u00a0Every day, we are given the great privilege of being invited into our patients\u2019 lives. We are with
\npatients when they are born and when they die; we provide advice and comfort; we prevent illness
\nand treat and manage disease. Our patients trust us, and we have always taken our advocacy role
\nvery seriously. It is part of the essence of our professionalism and we will keep our patients at the
\ncenter of everything we do.\u00a0\u00bb (Dr. Chris Simpson, inaugural speech, CMA 2014)
\nThe support of WMA is essential and I am sure, will be always provided.
\nThank you.<\/p>\n"},"caption":{"rendered":"

Inaugural Remarks WMA GA 2018 revised 1 Remarks \u2013 WMA, Iceland Ladies and gentlemen, my dear colleagues, When I attended the General Assembly for the first time, 9 years ago in New Delhi, I was overwhelmed by the presence of so many prominent leaders of medicine from all over the world. Since then, every time […]<\/p>\n"},"alt_text":"","media_type":"file","mime_type":"application\/pdf","media_details":{},"post":13298,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Inaugural-Remarks-WMA-GA-2018-revised.pdf","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11768"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/attachment"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11768"}]}}