25th Annual Conference of NERC-IAPM held
Principal Correspondent
Kohima, September 20
Minister for Health and Family Welfare, P. Longon today asserted that the NPF-led DAN government is committed to fulfilling and delivering the health care facilities to all. “Every effort is made to justify the health care delivery system in the State,” the Minister said while addressing the inaugural function of the 25th Annual Conference of North East Regional Chapter of Indian Association of Pathologists and Microbiologists (NERC-IAPM) at Regional Centre for Music and Performance Arts (RCMPA) Jotsoma in Kohima.
Nonetheless, Longon said that the health care delivery system in the state would be failure without the partnership and sincere efforts of health care professionals towards delivery of the health care services to the patients.
Expressing concern that the North East States always recorded high figures in terms of prevalence and incidence of diseases/infection like HIV, TB, cancer etc, he appealed to all the doctors of NE state to focus more into the health services.
“Though the facilities/resources are less in our region, yet your knowledge and skill is never behind anyone,” he said while adding that if this issue is tackled at our level, definitely our fellow patients need not go to a far hospital, thereby the state government exchequer is minimized and in return the benefit goes to the development of the state.
Further expressing that microbiology and pathology practice is targeted to the patient’s real needs to come to a perfect final diagnosis in the laboratory. “Excellence in diagnosis should be the commitment and mission of pathologists and microbiologists,” the Minister said.
“In this era of emergence of life style diseases, and emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases, mankind is safe in your hands,” he said adding that presently a changing medical technological innovations has emerged that the field of pathology and microbiology must not be ignored.
Expressing that pathologists and microbiologists have the potential to reshape the health care system, he called upon them to seize the opportunity and march ahead in tune with the modern medical technological innovations.
This, he said would add a volume of scale and complexity that requires a new kind of diagnostic procedure which is cost effective, non-invasive, easily affordable, more precise and time saving. Terming pathologists and microbiologists as the backbone of the national health programmes, he said they are the ones to guide clinical doctors and policy makers towards delivery of health care.
“Scientific research oriented branch of medicine – microbiology and pathology should take up the challenge in research activities and bring hope to the dying patients like AIDS, cancer etc”, he said.
He also appealed to all the doctors who are working in the laboratory based especially, pathologists and microbiologists to continue the struggles, rectify the failures and alleviate the sufferings of mankind. “Modern medical care cannot move forward unless the pathologists and microbiologists play the fill crucial role in diagnosis and research activities on diseases in the lab,” he added.
On the occasion, the Minister also released the souvenir commemorating the 25th annual conference of NERC-IAPM, NERCOM 2014. President of NERC-IAPM, Dr. Th. Dhabali said that there has been significant change and advancement in all the specialties and subspecialties of medical science.
Stating that laboratory medicine and techniques in medical diagnostics are not the exceptions, he said the discipline has also made significant advancement in terms of technology and automation leading to overall improvement in patient care and management.
The revolutionary discoveries of immunoflourescent techniques, of monoclonal antibiotics, and of polymerase chain reaction had an enormous impact leading to the complete redefinition of many of the morphology-based disease classification, he said.
He therefore said these leads to the need for constant updates for all the medical professionals to keep their knowledge afresh; otherwise, they would be readily phased out.
Around 100 pathologists and microbiologists from all the North Eastern states are attending the conference hosted by Nagaland Chapter of NERC-IAPM. Chairman NERCON 2014 Dr. Limaakum tendered vote of thanks.
During the technical session, topics such “Prof. B. D. Baruah oration on Cancer of Unknown Primary”; “Invasive Fungal Lesions in Immunocompromised patients” and “Molecular classification of Breast Cancers with Immunohistochemistry of ER, PR, Her2” were deliberated.
