Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (GAPIO), a non-profit organization is now gearing up to bring together the intellectual and technical strength of physicians of Indian origin from India and abroad that can be a vital force in development of Indian healthcare sector.

At the 6th International GAPIO held here on January 9 and 10, 2016 attracted around 500 medical experts. “The event ensured to provide affordable good quality healthcare, to contribute to local and regional community development, and thereby reduce health inequalities globally,” said Dr Sanku Surender Rao, president GAPIO and a practicing doctor from the US.

“Out of 1.2 million Indian doctors working globally, over 50,000 are employed in the UK. With huge shortage of doctors in India, we are trying to bring in services of about 15,000 retiring doctors from the UK to provide their expertise to the short staffed medical institutions across the country,” said Dr Ramesh Mehta, vice president, GAPIO and president of British Association of Physicians or Indian Origin (BAPIO).

 “This is an annual  event which brings together physicians of Indian origin from across the globe to interact and share learnings with each other. It provided a road map for the activities of GAPIO towards improving the health of the community,” said Dr. Nandakumar Jairam, GAPIO joint secretary and organizing chairman and chairman and group medical director, Columbia Asia Hospitals.

The first day of the GAPIO Meet had a series discussions including the key note address on ‘Changing trends in the management of type 2 diabetes’ by Dr. Irl B Hirsch, the professor of medicine, University Of Washington School Of Medicine. Dr. Maheshkumar M Lakhe, consultant, Internal Medicine & Infectious Diseases, Columbia Asia Hospital spoke on antibiotic abuse and how to minimise it.

Gynaecology was another important area of discussion on the first day of this symposium. Dr. Arvind Kasargod, consultant – Paediatrics and Paediatric Critical Care, Columbia Asia Referral Hospital, Yeshwanthpur delivered a talk on the challenges of Paediatric Intensive Care Unit in India.

The second day of the conference focused on oncology, GI and liver diseases, cardiology and neurosciences. These were addressed by Dr. Govind Nandkumar, chief of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Columbia Asia Hospital. Dr A S Soin from Medanta Institute of Liver Transplantation and Regenerative Medicines will speak on the journey of liver transplantation in India. Dr Prabhakar Shetty, chief of cardiology, Columbia Asia Referral Hospital, and Dr Karthik Vasudevan, consultant, cardiology, Columbia Asia Referral Hospital will deliver talks on various aspects of cardiovascular risks.