Ambassadors in Action: Malaga, Spain

20th European Congress of Internal Medicine

June 9-11, 2022
Malaga, Spain
Ambassador: Jitendra Barmecha, MBBS, MD, MPH, FACP

I represented ACP as a Global Ambassador at the 20th Annual European Congress of Internal Medicine, June 9-11, 2022, at Malaga Trade Fair and Congress Center in Malaga, Spain. The conference was organized by the European Federation of Internal Medicine (EFIM) with a mission to have an opportunity to acquire expert knowledge, learn, share successful experiences, discuss breakthroughs in clinical areas related to internal medicine, expand its network, and benefit from meeting colleagues from around the world. This year the theme was “Internal Medicine in the Front Lines of Health Care”. The congress had approximately 1,200 global attendees.

 

The conference began with various pre-congress workshops, which were followed by three days of robust scientific sessions, e-poster discussions, plenaries, and an award ceremony. Each day of the event featured joint sessions with a partnering association, including the EFIM – European Congress of Cardiology joint session, which discussed real world data vs. evidence-based medicine during COVID-19. The closing ceremony featured flamenco dances by local artists and Spanish cuisine at a waterfront restaurant.

Dr. Ricardo Gomez Huelgas, Dr. Barmecha, and Dr. Dror Dicker

I participated in a panel discussion on Digital Health with Dr. Filomena Pietrantonio from Italy. George Abraham, MD, MPH, MACP (Immediate Past President, ACP) and Prof. Dror Dicker (President of EFIM) moderated the panel. I highlighted the emerging digital technologies in the US, whereas Dr. Pietrantonio focused on evidence-based digital health in Italy. A similar panel discussion was presented at the ACP Annual Internal Medicine Meeting 2022in April. Based on these panel discussions, Dr. Pietrantonio and I agreed to author a white paper jointly and continue to share best practices on evidence-based digital health and emerging technologies, via joint workshops and presentations.

EFIM-ACP Joint Session Participants –
Dr. Jitendra Barmecha, Dr. Filomena Pietrantonio,
Dr. Dror Dicker, Dr. George Abraham

I was also conferred with an invited fellowship of European Federation of Internal Medicine (FEFIM) during the Congress. Overall, it was a great experience learning about internal medicine from our European colleagues and the congress provided ample opportunity for networking. I look forward to a continuing collaboration between our two organizations.

Respectfully submitted,

Jitendra Barmecha, MD, MPH, FACP, SFHM
Chair, Digital Health Advisory Board
Governor, Class of 2023 (NY - Bronx & Manhattan)
President, NY ACP Chapter

Back to the July 2022 issue of ACP Global