Jan Denecker
Opening Panel
Opening speech by Jan Denecker, President- A.P.B.

General Practitioners and Community Pharmacists provide for the need of people. Health promotion, disease prevention, cure and care, can only succeed when the current messages are passed on to patients in time and in understandable languages. Messages which are transmitted too late, messages which are too short and confusing or do not supply good, comprehensible information, miss their target.

Keeping this target in mind, the A.P.B. therefore, immediately gave its co-operation to the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute at the request of the PGEU, the pharmacists group of European Union. We are satisfied to see the Belgian Association of Physicians, ABSyM-BVAS also gave its co-operation to the project and we are looking forward to entering into common – why not common - projects.

Co-operation in this matter between both professions, with each complementing the other, is an opportunity for the patient, for both professions, as well as for the government. For both professions, it can be a strategy in the landscape of politics and health economy.

I wish you a successful and fruitful meeting and hope that you will enjoy your stay in Brussels. I hope also that you will not forget to greet the culinary delights of our small country.
Thank you.