Report from the 12th Russian Federation Internal Medicine Congress, 22nd -24th November 2017 in Moscow, Russian Federation

It was with great anticipation that I arrived in the capital of the Russian federation to attend the 12th annual meeting of the Russian Scientific Medical Society of Internal Medicine. The Crocus conference facility is particularly impressive as it is a massive complex, with modern amenities and with multiple lecture halls, eateries and exhibition space. We were made to feel very welcome by representatives of the society, particularly Prof. Anatoli Martinov and Dr. Valentin Kokorin.

    I was very privileged to attend the opening ceremony and to be asked to say a few words about the International Society of Internal Medicine (ISIM) and our activities as we support physicians around the world. I was also able to mention the WCIM 2018 and this was further supported by a booth where we had two Russian ladies to translate for delegates who walked past and where they could pick up a flyer with the relevant information about the congress. The congress was attended by more than 7000 registered delegates from various regions of the Russian Federation and the surrounding countries.

    It was noticeable how many young physicians attended the congress and the lecture halls were packed to capacity for the duration of the congress. A wide variety of topics were presented to cover all the fields of Internal Medicine and the exhibition area was very impressive with many multi-national companies present in beautifully decorated booths. It was great to meet the president of the European Federation of Internal Medicine (EFIM), Prof. R. Pallson.

    There was an excellent presentation by the Health Ministry on the improvement of the outpatient polyclinic system to facilitate patient care and much can be learnt from what they have implemented to date. It again emphasized to us that we all share similar challenges in our individual countries as we strive to deliver affordable, adequate care to our patients. We look forward to the World Congress of Internal Medicine that will take place here in 2022.

Dr. Adri Kok, President-Elect ISIM, member of the ISIM Executive Committee