We are entering an era of precision medicine where prevention and treatment of disease will be tailored to the genetics, lifestyle and environment of the individual. Traditional divisions between translational medicine, pre-clinical and clinical medicine do not apply anymore.

They are interwoven and feedback into each other constantly. Traditional divisions of physicians, nurses and allied health professionals also need to be rethought. Silo medical specialities focusing on one organ or one group of diseases are also less useful in this context.

Health professionals need to cast their nets wider than their traditional networks permit. Interdisciplinary education, collaboration and research are key to this holistic approach and new era in healthcare. HPM is a step in that direction, bringing together different types of health professionals from different regions and specialities thus jumpstarting true interdisciplinary leaps in patient-centred care.