The ISIUM conference Improving Use of Medicines: Connecting, Learning, Moving Forward was held at the Kantary Hills Hotel in Chiang Mai, Thailand on 28-30 October 2023.
Conference themes
Themes & topics included:
- patients and engaged communities for rational use of medicines
- working across sectors to improve use of medicines
- using data to identify rational medicine use problems
- learning from each other
- finding innovative solutions to old and new problems
- medicalisation of society
Keynote speakers
Phaik Yeong Cheah is Professor of Global Health and bioethicist at the University of Oxford. She is the founder and current head of Bioethics and Engagement at the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU). She currently manages MORU’s community and public engagement programme that aims to ensure that MORU’s research is ethical, and responsive, and that its potential health impact is maximised.
Libby Roughead is a professor at the University of South Australia. Her research focuses on quantifying the extent of problems with medicines use, identifying the extent of adverse reactions to medicines, testing solutions for improving medicines use and evaluating improvements in health care. Her research supports pharmaceutical policy development, she has expertise in developing and measuring performance indicators for evaluating pharmaceutical policy.
Luechai Sringernyuang is Professor in Medical Anthropology, Director of Contemplative Education Center at Mahidol University, Thailand. His research and teaching focus on qualitative methodology, pharmaceutical anthropology, the anthropology of infections and chronic diseases, accidents, and HIV/AIDS.
Co-hosts & partners
The Thai FDA, Health Systems Research Institute (HSRI), Drug System Monitoring and Development Centre (DMDC), and Mahasarakham University were co-hosts for the conference, joining Chiang Mai University which was the official local host.