ACP Internal Medicine 2019 Highlights

Internal Medicine Meeting 2019, ACP's premier annual meeting, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania April 11-13, 2019 and had an attendance of 8,900 physicians. The event featured more than 200 sessions covering a wide variety of clinical and practice management topics for doctors of internal medicine and its subspecialties. 1,117 attendees from outside the United States came to the meeting. The top three countries outside the United States with the highest number of attendees registered were Canada, Mexico, and Colombia.

ACP once again this year offered discounted individual registration rates, as well as specially priced delegation rates, for attendees from selected countries. A total of thirteen delegations (10 or more physicians registered as a group) came from Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Sri Lanka, and Switzerland.

An international attendee guide, in both English and Spanish, was available to meeting attendees that focused on matters of local interest and how to navigate the meeting.

At the Convocation Ceremony on April 11, approximately 595 physicians were inducted as ACP Fellows and 73 were from 26 countries outside the United States. Over 80 members became Masters of the College or received another award. The College bestowed Honorary Fellowships to 8 presidents of international internal medicine societies.

Following the ceremony, members, friends, and families gathered at the annual ACP International Reception that included over 300 international internal medicine leaders and attendees along with ACP leaders. During the reception, Ana María López, MD, MPH, MACP, ACP President, gave a few words to welcome everyone. International Fellowship Exchange Program (IFEP) awardees were also recognized and honored at this event.

ACP was honored to host presidents and representatives of internal medicine societies from around the world. The international delegates were part of the stage party in the Convocation ceremony. They also participated in ACP's 13th Annual International Forum, titled “Global Experiences and Initiatives to Promote Physician Well-Being.” The Forum provided an opportunity for ACP leaders and the presidents and special representatives from international internal medicine societies to discuss this important topic that crosses national boundaries and affects the care of physicians around the world.

On Saturday, April 13, new ACP officers started their terms. Robert M. McLean, MD, FACP, of New Haven, Connecticut, became the 2019-20 ACP President; and Douglas M. DeLong, MD, FACP, of Cooperstown, New York became the 2019-20 Chair of the Board of Regents; Jacqueline Winfield Fincher, MD, MACP, of Thomson, Georgia became the ACP President-elect; and Heather E. Gantzer, MD, FACP, of St. Louis Park, Minnesota became the Chair-elect of the Board of Regents.

Internal Medicine Meeting 2020 will be held April 23-25 in Los Angeles, California. For more information, please visit: https://annualmeeting.acponline.org/

Honorary Fellows


Left to right, back row: Dr. Ricardo Gomez Huelgas, President, Spanish Society of Internal Medicine; Dr. Mark Lane, President, The Royal Australasian College of Physicians; Dr. Andrew Goddard, President, Royal College of Physicians of London; Dr. M. Ian Bowmer, President, The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada; Dr. Antonello Pietrangelo, President, Italian Society of Internal Medicine; Dr. Roxanna Hiza Ribera, President, College of Internal Medicine of Bolivia.
Left to right, front row: Dr. João Araújo Correia, President, Portuguese Society of Internal Medicine; Dr. Ana Maria López, 2018-2019 ACP President; Dr. Andrew Dunn, 2018-2019 ACP Chair, Board of Regents; Dr. Nicola Montano, President, European Federation of Internal Medicine

Special Representatives


Left to right, back row: Dr. Md. Billal Alam, President, Bangladesh Society of Internal Medicine; Dr. Alba Celeste Frias, President, Dominican Republic Society of Internal Medicine; Dr. Somchai Eiam-ong, President, Royal College of Physicians Thailand; Dr. Chow Yu-fat, President, Hong Kong Academy of Medicine; Dr. Nuvia Batista Rujano, President, Panamanian Society of Internal Medicine; dr. Ding-Cheng (Derrick) Chang, President, Taiwan Society of Internal Medicine.
Left to right, bottom row: Dr. Chad Rey V. Carungin, President, Philippine College of Physicians; Dr. Evert-Jan F.M. de Kruijf, President, Dutch Society of Internal Medicine; Dr. Ana María López, 2018-2019 ACP President; Dr. Andrew Dunn, 2018-2019 ACP Chair, Board of Regents; Dr. Regula Capaul, President, Swiss Society of Internal Medicine; Dr. Chan Choon President, College pf Physicians Singapore.


Left to right, back row: Dr. Luz María Letelier, Past Secretary General, Chilean Society of Internal Medicine; Dr. Sally Aman Nasution, President, Indonesian Society of Internal Medicine; Dr. Thomas William Mackay, President, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh; Dr. Thilak Jayalath, President, Sri Lankan Society of Internal Medicine; Dr. Estela Maria Torres de Taboada, President, Paraguayan Society of Internal Medicine; Dr. Neil Gibson, President, Canadian Society of Internal Medicine; Dr. Roberto López Espinosa, President, Mexican College of Internal Medicine; Dr. Johanna (Adri) Kok, President, International Society of Internal Medicine; Dr. Maritza de Jesus Durán Castillo, President, Venezuelan Society of Internal Medicine.
Left to right, bottom row: Dr. Dragan Lovic, President, Serbian Association of Internal Medicine; Dr. Knut E.A. Lundin, President, Norwegian Society of Internal Medicine; Dr. Ana María López, 18-19 ACP President; Dr. Andrew Dunn, 2018-2019 ACP Chair, Board of Regents; Dr. Hans-Peter Kohler, Secretary-General, International Society of Internal Medicine; Dr. Patrick Lacor, Vice President, Belgian Society of Internal Medicine.


Left to right: Dr. María Solome Pilheu, President, Buenos Aires Society of Internal Medicine; Dr. Ana María López, 2018-2019 ACP President; Dr. Andrew Dunn, 2018-2019, ACP Chair, Board of Regents; Dr. Virgil Carballo Zarate, President, Colombian Association of Internal Medicine; Dr. Sonia Indacochea Caceda, President, Peruvian Society of Internal Medicine.
Not pictured: Dr. Richard Ceska, President, Czech Society of Internal Medicine; Dr. Mary Horgan, President, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland; Dr. Avishay Elis, President, Israel Society of Internal Medicine; Dr. Jose Alonso Acuña Feoli, Vice President, Costa Rican Association of  Internal Medicine. 

Back to the May 2019 issue of ACP International