14 WORLD GASTROENTEROLOGY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2015 Editorial | Expert Point of View | Gastro 2015: AGW/WGO | WDHD News | WGO & WGOF News | WGO Global Guidelines | Calendar of Events World Digestive Health Day 2015 in Odisha, India Shivaram Prasad Singh, MBBS, MD, DM Head, Department of Gastroenterology SCB Medical College Cuttack Odisha, India THE WORLD DIGESTIVE HEALTH DAY WDHD 2015 WAS OBSERVED IN 3 PHASES: Press Conference on World Digestive Health Day (WDHD) 2015 A press conference was organized on the eve of WDHD 2015 at the Hotel Grand Residency. This was attended by leading representatives of the print and electronic media. This was organized to create aware-ness about the role of World Gastro-enterology Organisation (WGO) in improving gastrointestinal health. Professor SP Singh spoke to the representatives on various aspects of “Heartburn & GERD.” He spoke about the burden this common problem imposed on the population and the health care system. He also spoke on the differential diagnosis and management approach for patients suffering from heartburn. Profes-sor Singh also provided educational leaflets on “Heartburn” in English and Odia. The role of the media in spreading awareness about various health issues was also discussed. The Kalinga Gastroenterology Foundation has been the frontrunner in organiz-ing WDHD meetings every year. The press was also enlightened about how through telemedicine, physicians across the state were educated about epidemiology, diagnosis, and man-agement of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Telemedicine Programs on GERD and Heartburn: Physicians across the state were educat-ed about different aspects of heartburn and GERD, including epidemiology, diagnosis, and management, through 11 weekly telemedicine programs. Phy-sicians attended the programs at the telemedicine centers in the 30 District Headquarters Hospitals. This program was carried out over a period of three months and covered 30 districts of Odisha state, including the remote districts of Kalahandi, Koraput, and Malkangiri, and the three State Medi-cal colleges of Odisha. The one-hour programs were con-ducted every Friday between 12 Noon and 1 PM and during each session the program covered three district headquarters hospitals. During the CME program, the interested physi-cians would assemble at the telemedi-cine centers and there would be an initial didactic lecture on heartburn. This would be followed by an open question-answer session when the physicians from the distant districts would ask questions which would be answered by the faculty. This program was highly appreciated. World Digestive Health Day WDHD Ceremony 2015: The event was jointly organized by Kalinga Gastroenterology Foundation, the Department of Gastroenterology, SCB Medical College, and the Odisha State Chapter of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology (ISG). The event was inaugurated by veteran urologist Professor Satyanarayan Panda with the lighting of the auspicious inaugu-ral lamp. The program was attended by about 100 postgraduate students, family physicians, internists, and gastroenterologists. Prof. SN Panda about to release Odia Leaflets on GERD. Telemedicine Centre – Prof. SP Singh, Dr. Rajesh Sainani, Prof. BN Mohanty, and other members of WDHD team. WDHD 2015 - Inauguration Ceremony.
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