OAFI exports its osteoarthritis PATIENT EMPOWEREMENT MODEL to Colombia

On Saturday, September 2, the President of the Osteoarthritis Foundation International (OAFI), Dr. Josep Vergés, will participate in the Second National Symposium for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis in Colombia which is being held at the Compensar Grand Auditorium in Bogota.

Empowered Patients

Under the title “Patient Communities: challenges and expectations” Dr. Vergés will present the OAFI Foundation to leading Colombian rheumatologists as well as one of the Foundation’s star projects: the training of empowered osteoarthritis patients so that they have real knowledge about their pathology and the necessary information on both pharmacological and lifestyle treatments and prevention. With the ultimate goal of improving patients’ quality of life.

“We are in a new era in which the patient plays an active role in their own disease and the relationship with their doctor has to be active bis a bis, improving the interpersonal relationship with their doctor, with the patient being the axis of their disease and of the health system” explained Dr. Vergés.

About the symposium

The second National Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient Symposium is organized by the Centro de Atención Integral en Artritis Reumatoide de Colombia (Biomab IPS) and the Gest-Art Patient Program. The event is especially aimed at patients and caregivers, in order to promote healthy lifestyles and empower them towards a positive life project.

The internationalisation of OAFI

OAFI’s presence at this symposium consolidates the internationalization of the Foundation, which is increasingly present in different countries around the world. An internationalization that will be reflected in the 1st International Congress for Patients of Osteoarthritis organized by OAFI on 9 and 10 October at the Cosmocaixa Auditorium, in Barcelona, where various rheumatic patient associations and foundations from more than twenty countries will be represented. (more information on the congress here)