The College of Medicine first International Conference was held in Bangalore, India. The Governing Council were guests of Dr. Isaac and Suja Mathai of the Soukya foundation. Over six hundred delegates attended the conference which lasted for three days .

The closing ceremony was addressed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Professor Sir Graeme Catto, Dr. Michael Dixon and Dr. Harry Brünjes, all of whom were presented with a lifetime achievement award in Integrated Medicine.

Download the full report here

Key themes:

• Modern conventional medicine cannot provide all the answers and sustainable integrated solutions are the only option. The current health systems across the world are unaffordable and can’t match the epidemic in long term disease, high tech solutions are not the answer for long-term disease. 
• Integrated solutions go beyond medicine. Whole-person care, patient information and guided self-care need to be taken more seriously in solutions of long term disease. 
• We need to focus on how health and wellbeing are produced and to consider culturally relevant healing traditions
• Lifestyle approaches as treatment, not prevention. These low-tech, low cost interventions now have a compelling evidence base.
• The need to explore preventative solutions that help people to manage the risks of developing long term conditions.
•  Importance of evidence-based medicine (EBM). The best medicine integrates clinical expertise and compassion with best available evidence.  
• The future of integrated care needs to include: evidence, education, regulation of practitioners and products, accreditation, changes in primary care models, updated treatment guidelines. 
• Asset-based community development offers a global opportunity for health improvement. Well established techniques enable communities to grow, flourish and gain more control over their environments.  
• Action towards health improvement must lead away from an almost total dependency on professional interventions and tools, toward community-building and citizen action. Health is not a product of health systems but of humanness interacting with itself, its environment and its economy.
•  Importance of embracing the digital revolution – Patient Passports where patient own their own record 
• Anything that makes for a more sustainable physical environment will simultaneously be promoting a healthier environment.

Speakers included: Sir John Oldham (National Clinical Lead for Quality and Productivity), HRH, The Prince of Wales (video message), His Excellency Dr Bhardway (Governor of Karnataka), Professor Dean Ornish, Dr Michael Dixon, Dr Isaac Mathai, Professor George Lewith, Professor David Peters, Professor Justin Wu and Sir Jonathan Porrit. Closing ceremony attended by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and several Indian ministers and dignitaries.