Speech delivered by H.E. Prof. Guido De Marco, President of Malta, at the opening of the 6th Mediterranean Medical Conference at Mdina, 7th September 2000

Abstract

Ladies and Gentlemen, Medicine, much like religion, has always had a magical mystique about it. The medical practitioner, like religious practitioner provides a bridge and helps the laymen to rationlize the unknown and reduce it into known terms. The patient, often sick and in pain, seeks the advice of the one person, the doctor, who can deliver him from the misery of suffering . In the vast majority of cases it is family doctors such as you gathered here today, whom patients first consult about their symptoms. It is at this point that the family doctors face a mayor challenge - that of communication. In this era of globalization, communication may take on several forms: Internet, interactive television, radio .. , but in dealing with clients, the family doctor has to rely on that most basic form of communication words. Talking to a patient, taking time out of a busy schedule is part of a process which the medical profession cannot with impunity, ignore.