The International Patients’ Union Conference (IPUC) is being organised in Delhi on 6th April, 2024. The focus of the conference is ‘Leveraging technology to enhance patient engagement and treatment outcomes.’
The International Patients’ Union (IPU), heralded as ‘the change initiative’ was established with the mission of connecting patients to a tech-enabled platform by Dr Rajendra Pratap Gupta, Founder, IPUC, and Digital Health Academy.
Through this initiative, patients gain access to a network comprising doctors, policymakers, regulators, industry leaders and fellow patients. By providing a platform for patients to voice their opinions, contribute to policy formulation, and exchange insights on disease management, the IPU aims to empower individuals in their healthcare journey. It recognises the need to prioritise patient-driven healthcare system. While patient centricity remains pivotal, the IPU advocates for a paradigm shift towards a model where patients steer the direction of their healthcare experiences and expectations.
The upcoming edition will focus on educating and empowering patients to harness digital technologies in healthcare. By facilitating dialogue among healthcare stakeholders and providing a platform for patients to articulate their concerns and recommendations, the conference aims to foster a proactive, transparent and outcome-driven healthcare system from a patient’s perspective.
Dignitaries expected to grace the conference include Dr Thomas Zeltner, Chairman, World Health Organisation (WHO) Foundation; Dr BN Gangadhar, Chairman, National Medical Commission (NMC); Dr RK Srivastava, Former Chairman, Medical Council of India (MCI) and former Director General of Health Services (DGHS), Government of India; Dr Arun Gupta, President, Delhi Medical Council (DMC); and Dr Girdhar Gyani, Director General (DG), Association of Healthcare Providers of India (AHPI), among others.
Two of the initiatives that will be launched during this conference are:
- Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs): For the first time in India, the patients will get the power to rate doctors, hospitals and government schemes. This is likely to make an impact on the quality of care, and lead to improving health outcomes.
- TRx: Given the proliferation of technology in managing chronic patients, it was necessary to distinguish the conventional prescription (Rx) from prescriptions with DTx and other technology-enabled products and services advised to the patients. IPU has pioneered the TRx, and will be launching it during the conference. This new-age prescription is keeping with the needs of the technology-enabled healthcare delivery and will lead to awareness and transparency for patients who are prescribed technology products and services, and also enable clinicians to give the proper counselling on how to use digital health tools.
Ideated in 2014, IPU launched Patients Union App last year.
For further inquiries, visit: www.patientsunion.org
Contact:
Priya Shukla (priya@patientsunion.org)
Arushi Negi (arushi@parliament.health)
Phone: +91 9911100665
