Over 11,000 delegates to participate in the Kalaignar Centenary Int'l Medical Conference

CHENNAI: The Kalaignar Centenary International Medical Conference was inaugurated at the Chennai Trade Center by health minister Ma Subramanian on Friday.

Several senior officials from the state health department, Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University and foreign delegates from the health sector participated in the inaugural ceremony of the three day conference titled "Future of Medicine".

Besides medicine, the conference will also hold discussions on Dentistry, AYUSH, Nursing, Pharmacology, Rehabilitation Sciences and medical research. Inaugurating the ceremony, health minister talked about various health schemes such as Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam, organ donation, Innuyir Kappom Nammai Kakkum 48 and Varumum Kappom Thittam.

The minister said Tamil Nadu is becoming a medical tourism hub with patients coming here from other States and countries. "The State provides excellent treatment to many patients who require medical and surgical treatment at par with developed countries. The international medical conference aims to bring national and international experts to our State to share their knowledge and promote research," he said.

As many as 28 international speakers from USA, UK, Singapore, Germany, Singapore, Qatar, Australia and Canada and 150 speakers from all over India will be participating in panel discussions and presentations.

As many as 11,000 delegates including undergraduate medical students, postgraduate medical students, academics, medical interns, dentists, nursing students and others from government and private institutions across the State will be participating at this conference. The minister said that the medical students who have been selected under the 7.5 percent reservation quota would also be attending an international medical conference for the first time.

Chief minister had also congratulated the department through a message to the health minister. He stated that, "I strongly believe that the results of this conference will have a profound impact on our healthcare system by manifesting in policies and practices in the years to come. In particular, I hope that this conference will play an important role in promoting medical tourism in Tamil Nadu.

"Our state has been a pioneer in providing world class medical services. It has contributed significantly to the economic growth of our State and I believe that this conference will help to further strengthen our position," he said.