Greek physicians and medical experts from Australia, Greece and other parts of the world will meet in Melbourne on 17-19 November to celebrate all that has been achieved by Hellenic medical societies, over the years, during the Hellenic Medical Diaspora World Congress 2022, organised by the Hellenic Medical Society of Australia and the Global Doctors’ Hippocratic Institute.

The programme will include presentations on recent research and treatment updates in the fields of Cardiology, Geriatrics, Thermal Medicine, Community leadership, Breast Cancer treatment, Orthopaedics, Endocrinology, Neurosurgery, Healthy Diet, Pediatric Oncology, Urology, Mental health, Vaccine development, Concepts in Medical Tourism, Gynecology and IVF, Nephrology, Dermatology, Pulmonary Medicine as well as Arterial and Venous disease.

“Οne of the goals of this conference is to try to reinvigorate the relevance to Hippocrates, the hypothetico-deductive model of reasoning into medicine, but at the same time, the ethics attached to Hippocrates and how we should practice,” Dr Marinis Pirpiris, President of the Hellenic Medical Society of Australia and chair of the Conference, told Neos Kosmos. He added that the Governor of the region of Attica, Dr. George Patoulis, who is also president of the Athens Medical Association and of the Global Doctors Hippocratic Institute, will travel to Melbourne to participate, along with Hellenic scientists from Greece, and other parts of the world.

The conference, which will be co-hosted by the Greek Community of Melbourne, will focus on discussing the strategies that will create opportunities for positive interaction between medical students, doctors and healthcare workers of Greek descent, across the world.

“We’re working on exchange programmes between students of medicine, but also students in any healthcare profession. Such as exchange programmes for postgraduate medical personnel, an exchange of research, and working on strengthening the collaborations between Greek universities and the universities here in Melbourne,” Dr Pirpiris said.

From local to global

An important aspect of the conference will be the participation of Greek Australian community service providers, PRONIA, Fronditha Care, and Agape Care. Kris Pavlidis, president of PRONIA, Jill Taylor, president of Fronditha, and Mary Gakopoulos, Agape Care CEO, will discuss the role of these organisations in the community, their interactions and what their needs are, that are relative to issues in Greece, bringing to the table specific resources, and ways to establish continual professional development in the careers of people involved in these areas.

Apart from the lectures that will presented by leading doctors and health specialists at the Greek Centre, there will be a series of talks that will be pre-recorded, due to the time difference, that will be available on demand, so “people can log in at any time that’s convenient to them and listen,” Dr Pirpiris added.

The Hellenic Medical Diaspora World Congress 2022 will end on Saturday 19 November, with a ball at the Grand Hyatt, with the intention to raise funds for PRONIA and Fronditha Care.

During the launch of the proceedings there will be a number of dignitaries present, the Consul General of Greece, Emmanuel Kakavelakis, Federal MP Maria Vamvakinou, Victorian minister of Tourism, Steve Dimopoulos, former minister of health in Victoria, Martin Foley, and Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sally Capp among others.

“They’re interested in the collaborative work, with Melbourne, opening up and being the centre of interaction to develop a sort of Knowledge Hub that will contribute to the improvement of patient care and patient outcomes,” Marinis Pirpiris said.

The scientific convenors of the Congress are Dr Panagiotis A. Manolas, President of the Hellenic Medical Society of New York, and Dr George Koufogiannis from Melbourne.

For more information visit: aoa.org.au/events/cem-events/detail/bf9f0b84-b1e3-4584-91ea-2279d27fd3fe