Call for active European GP participation at Annual EPCCS CV Summit

During a pre-session of the Annual EPCCS CV Summit, a lively discussion was held among representatives of 19 countries, namely Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Greece, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, The Netherlands, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom.

This discussion was aimed at exploring how the European network of GPs with a special interest in CV medicine can be strengthened, and how EPCCS can contribute to this process. It became clear that in many countries, the focus of cardiovascular medicine has been around treatment rather than prevention. The disease burden is, however, likely to increase in the future. In many countries, a shift is taking place from cardiovascular care being organised in the hospital setting, towards a greater emphasis of care managed in the community. That means that there is a great and growing demand on how to provide care in the community. This raises questions on how best to organise this. EPCCS can and should play a role in this process.

EPCCS would like to be in touch with representatives from as many countries as possible. Moreover, interfacing with national generalist societies could help substantially, considering that at least 30% of the illnesses GPs face in their practice concern cardiovascular disease.

EPCCS plans to reach out to all those who registered for this Annual EPCCS CV Summit for Primary Care, aiming to connect with at least one person per country. Connections with national societies may be renewed.

The EPCCS website will host materials to exchange between countries, or material aimed at a specific country. Currently, many initiatives are taking place in various countries, but individual countries are not aware of activities elsewhere. By sharing experiences on the EPCCS website, countries can learn from each other.

Those interested to take part in strengthening a European network of GPs with a special interest in CV Medicine can indicate their willingness to participate by e-mailing to: info@medconinternational.com.

A future Council Meeting will be planned with the national representatives to consider further how we can strengthen our relationship.

Visit the website of the European Primary Care Cardiovascular Society Contact EPCCS to join the European GP network