WONCA Europe

The Programme at a Glance of the14th EURIPA Health Forum, Wittenberg, Germany, 26-28 June 2025. 3 parallel sessions, 80 abstracts presented (including workshops, oral presentations and posters) as well as several keynote speakers including Assoc/Prof Karen Flegg, President World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA), Thomas Frese, President elect WONCA Europe, Andrée Rochfort, President EQuiP WONCA Europe. For more informations https://forum.euripa.org/

So, what does the future of Digital Primary Care look like across Europe? We had the pleasure of hosting a powerful and thought-provoking European Digital Primary Care Webinar today, with perspectives ranging from rural telemedicine in Hungary to AI-assisted documentation in Slovenia. Huge thanks to our brilliant speakers and the engaged participants: - Dr Toni Dedeu (WHO Regional Office for Europe) gave a visionary keynote on "Quo Vadis? Transforming Primary Health" — a digital blueprint that calls on researchers, policymakers, and implementers to collaborate more strategically. - Chrysanthi Papoutsi (University of Oxford) reminded us how difficult it is to spread and scale innovation, emphasising the need to bridge the gap between pilot projects and system-wide change. - Andrew Bean (Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford) and Rebecca Payne (Bangor University) unpacked how clinical knowledge in LLMs does not translate to human interactions. - Annica Björkman (University of Gävle) shared Sweden's experience with chatbot access to out-of-hours care. - Abel Perjes, MD, PhD (Hungarian Maltese Charity Service) showcased an inspiring model for telemedicine-based mobile healthcare in rural Hungary, emphasising that technology should follow people, not the other way around. - Vanashree Samant, MD shared early results from an AI documentation pilot in Ljubljana, Slovenia, together with Prof. Dr. Zalika Klemenc Ketiš. Discussions were equally rich, covering insightful questions and comments: - The importance of training AI to recognise human nuance in consultations. - The challenge of evaluating telemedicine beyond RCTs. - The realities of funding environments that favour traditional methods over innovative ones. - How to engage multi-level stakeholders in priority setting (patients, practitioners, industry, policymakers)? Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed. Let’s keep the conversation going. Thank you to my sterling co-hosts, Linda Huibers from Health - Aarhus University and Forskningsenheden for Almen Praksis Aarhus and Rebecca Payne (University of Oxford and Bangor University). #DigitalHealth #PrimaryCare #Telemedicine #AI #HealthEquity #EUPolicy #StakeholderEngagement #HealthInnovation #WebinarTakeaways

🎥 Recording Available Now! Missed the EURIPA webinar “Digital Consultations – Enhancing Safety in Remote Consulting”? Watch the insightful session led by Prof. Trish Greenhalgh & Dr. Rebecca Payne—exploring how to ensure safer remote care through real-world vignettes and qualitative research. 📅 Originally aired: 28 May 2025 🎙️ Moderator: Oleg Kravtchenko ▶️ Watch here: https://pnc.ee/5Qn8Ggm #PrimaryCare #DigitalHealth #RemoteConsulting #PatientSafety #EURIPA #WONCAEurope

🌍 WONCA Europe Executive Board Updates | June 2025 Our latest Executive Board meeting highlights include: ✅ Strong collaboration with WONCA World ✅ EJGP moves to full online peer review ✅ Conference plans for Lisbon 2025 & Paris 2026 🏅 5 Star Doctor Awards: Congratulations to Peter Torzsa & Jana Bendova! 📢 Upcoming webinars and a WE Talk with election candidates 🍷 Participation in EAHA launch during #EASL2025 🔗 Read the full summary: https://pnc.ee/aAyK8Pp #WONCAEurope #FamilyMedicine #PrimaryCare #GeneralPractice

💡 How is digitalisation reshaping family medicine? At the 66th EQuiP Conference in Linz, we explored how AI and emerging technologies are influencing diagnosis, patient safety, and quality care. 👥 Collaboration, innovation, and critical reflection were at the core of the discussions — ensuring that digital tools support, not replace, the human side of medicine. 📹 Watch this recap and join the conversation. https://pnc.ee/weeq66 #EQUIPLinz #FamilyMedicine #AIinHealthcare #DigitalHealth #WONCAEurope #EQuiP

WONCA's Working Party in Quality & Safety hosted a fantastic webinar yesterday. Participants were treated to a great overview of findings from one of the core authors of the OECD’s Patient-Reported Indicator Surveys (PaRIS) report, and fellow family physician, Candan Kendir. This was the first session of a three-part webinar series which aims to highlight key findings from the surveys and support family doctors in using this data to advocate for stronger, more responsive primary care systems worldwide. The recording is now available to watch on YouTube. https://lnkd.in/ezmiG-vE Don't forget to register for the upcoming two sessions: Primary Care Through Patients' Eyes: What We Can Learn from Slovenia and Czechia Date & Time: Monday, 23 June 2025 at 15:00 UTC Speakers: Prof. Zalika Klemenc Ketiš, MD, PhD, University of Maribor, Slovenia Prof. Bohumil Seifert, MD, PhD, Charles University, Czech Republic Purpose: This webinar explores insights from two PaRIS national implementations. Speakers will share what patient-reported data revealed about care quality and coordination in Slovenia and Czechia. Participants will reflect on how these findings can inform improvements in other health systems. Registration link: https://lnkd.in/eBWRCAVC Measurements behind Patients’ Voices: PROMs and PREMs in OECD PaRIS Date & Time: Sunday, 6 July 2025 at 10:00 UTC Speaker: Prof. Jose M Valderas, MD, PhD, National University of Singapore Purpose: This session will focus on the measurement science behind the PaRIS survey—patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and patient-reported experience measures (PREMs). Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the tools used in PaRIS and how to interpret and apply the results in practice and advocacy. Registration link: https://lnkd.in/evh6MJN3

𝐖𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐑 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐥 𝐟𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲. WONCA signed the Fossil Free Communication Commitment, a global initiative led by the Global Climate and Health Alliance. This marks a deliberate step to align our communication practices with our mission: to protect health, promote climate action, and uphold ethical standards. Approved by the WONCA Executive Committee in March 2025, this commitment means we will not work with PR or advertising agencies that: 🚫 Represent fossil fuel companies 🚫 Promote greenwashing or disinformation 🚫 Refuse transparency around fossil fuel clients We do this not for symbolism, but out of responsibility. The health harms caused by fossil fuel pollution are undeniable: over 7 million premature deaths annually from air pollution alone, as well as worsening impacts from extreme heat, food insecurity, and infectious disease. “As family doctors, we see how air pollution and climate change, driven by fossil fuels, harm our patients’ health daily. We must advocate for a rapid, just transition to clean energy for the sake of current and future generations.” – A/Prof Karen Flegg, President of WONCA We will not allow our communication platforms to be used – directly or indirectly – to promote fossil fuel interests. This commitment strengthens WONCA’s stance for health, equity, and environmental justice. This commitment follows our co-signing of the 2023 open letter for a just and equitable transition to sustainable energy. Our duty of care obliges us to protect public health, not partner with those who distort evidence and prolong exposure to preventable harm. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eXCmWFhu https://lnkd.in/e4fb4Xdc

BMJ Quality & Safety, one of the world leading journals in Health Services Research has recently selected the top 10 papers published last year. I am delighted to share that our paper on the development of the OECD PaRIS is one of them. The note highlights that "a strength of this study was its conscious effort to engage with patients and experts internationally" and that it "should represent the start of a conscious and collaborative effort to listen to the patient voice and use patient experiences as a catalyst for change". A fantastic recognition to a great team effort of the PaRIS-SUR Consortium (Jose M Valderas Ian Porter, Jimmy Martin D. Mieke Rijken, Judith de Jong Oliver Groene, PhD Monika Bloemeke-Cammin, Rosa Suñol, Rachel Williams Marta Ballester Santiago) and the OECD Health Division (Kate de Bienassis Candan Kendir Frederico Guanais Michael van den Berg), among many other partners and contributors. https://lnkd.in/eg6RSMR4

🔗 https://pnc.ee/kwv2J55 To keep the spirit of collaboration and learning alive between its biannual conferences, the European General Practice Research Network (EGPRN) introduced a series of #onlineworkshops. What started as a simple idea has grown into a dynamic platform for skill-building, knowledge exchange, and community support in primary care research. We spoke with the team behind the workshops—Building Bridges Between Meetings: How EGPRN's #OnlineWorkshops Strengthen Community and Research Capacity—about how the initiative began, what it aims to achieve, and the meaningful impact it's had across the EGPRN network.   Looking back, how did the EGPRN online workshop series come into being? What inspired the decision to launch these sessions? 👉 Ileana Gefaell Larrondo : I think it was Michael the one who started this EGPRN workshops. He is always willing to offer education and opportunities to the EGPRN members and he thought he could give this workshops as a fresh start for people with little experience or as a reminder for experienced researchers. I joined Sara Ares and Michael after all this started, and I thought it was a great opportunity to learn and help each other during the workshops! 👉 Michael Harris: We also felt that there was a need for the EGPRN to provide something educations to our members in between the six-monthly meetings, and in addition to (but not replacing) the in-person pre-conference workshops.   What were your main goals when starting the series, and how do you feel they aligned with EGPRN's broader mission to advance primary care research? 👉 Ileana Gefaell Larrondo Gefaell: From my perspective, we aimed to respond to the EGPRN members' eagerness to learn more. It is a way to learn all together and adjust to the EGPRN members' needs. And of course it is a great opportunity to have fun and see each other between the EGPRN conferences. 👉 Michael Harris: While some EGPRN members have a lot of research experience, some don't have this, and they don't all have access to primary care-specific teaching in their own countries. Learning about the basics of research methods is the first step in helping them to do their own high-quality primary care research. 👉 Sara Ares Blanco: I believe it's also important to build a community of researchers around the meetings. Not everyone can attend in person, so having opportunities to learn, reflect, and share concerns outside of the meetings is essential. It helps maintain momentum and enthusiasm for research—especially since working in primary care research can often feel isolating.   The most recent workshop focused on understanding cohort and case-control studies. Why was this topic particularly relevant to your audience? 👉 Ileana Gefaell Larrondo : We offer 3 workshops between each EGPRN meeting, 6 over the whole year. We have a mix of workshops on understanding research methods, planning and doing research, understanding medical statistics, and one on how to...

The latest edition of WONCA News is out now! Inside: ✅ WONCA at the World Health Assembly ✅ 2025 Montegut & Donald Li YDM Scholars announced ✅ OECD PaRIS survey webinar series ✅ Lisbon early bird deadline reminder (25 June) 👉 Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eaXyt7tu Subscribe to get WONCA News straight to your inbox.