It is difficult to imagine that we are now starting 2008. It seems as if was only yesterday that there was all the talk about the new millennium! 

The Executive Board of the IFCC last year continued to work on the Vision developed last year for the IFCC. 

If you remember from last year we decided to concentrate on: 

1)        Developing integrated projects so that the work that is done by the Scientific Division (SD) in establishing reference methods and materials will be integrated with the other Divisions. The Education and Management Division (EMD) will assist with educational materials understanding these reference methods and new standards and materials. The Communications and Publications Division (CPD) will be sure that information about these changes will be posted on our web site and disseminated as widely as possible. The Congress and Conference Division (CCD) will ensure that meetings contain sessions devoted to the newest work from the SD.  Thus, the loop will be completed.  
I am pleased to tell you that the Past President, Professor Mathias M�ller, is spearheading this effort. The work is starting on a project related to pharmacogenetics, and another will be started next year on screening for renal function.

2)        Improvement of public relations is of high priority. We must work, through CPD, to make members of our Member Societies are fully aware of IFCC activities.
According to current WHO data, fully 80% of diagnoses is based on laboratory results. We need to work with physicians to enable them to understand our role in their success with patient diagnoses and therapies. Likewise, we need to make the global community of present and future patients understand our role. 
I am delighted to announce that the Communications and Publications Division (CPD) are working together with Abbott Laboratories and their �Labs are Vital� program to ensure that the knowledge of what IFCC does not only reaches our Members, but also the general public. We are also striving to be timelier and more thorough with getting information re our programs on our web site, www.ifcc.org.
In addition, the Congress and Conference Division has worked well with CPD in getting a large variety of meetings announced on our web, and has been active in encouraging the use of auspices and the IFCC logo to get information about these widely distributed. 

3)        Education.  We should develop educational programs that involve not only our Member Societies, but clinicians and patients as well. We must continue to develop many specialized educational programs, such as the one in evidence-based medicine and in analytical quality. 
I have previously reported that in late 2006 we obtained a substantial grant from Abbott Diagnostics to allow us to expand our Visiting Lecturer Program to developing countries in a major way. I am happy to report that this effort is now well underway under the leadership of the Education and Management Division. 

4)        Assisting Developing Countries should be a priority. One of the critical needs of those of our Member Societies that qualify as developing countries is improvement of analytical results and helping these nations learn about new and better approaches to our discipline. 
As I mentioned above, to this end we have strengthened our VLP and we have also obtained a very generous grant from Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Inc. (OCD), to allow us to hold a biannual specialized program at a low registration fee, so that it is easier for persons to attend. We have also obtained a grant from Roche Diagnostics Gbmh to enable persons from developing countries to apply for travel grants to our various meetings. 

5)        Reflect better the fact that the term �Laboratory Medicine� is part of the name of our organization. We should seek areas in which we can expand our scientific activities, such as in Microbiology and Virology. The SD should set up Working Groups to deal with these expansions.
This part of the vision is being looked at, but as yet I have nothing definite to report. 

I have been very busy raising corporate monies to either strengthen existing programs or to add new ones. I have been deeply involved with working with the Scientific Division over the resistance by clinicians to the implementation of the new recommendations regarding the measurement of HbA1c. I worked with the Executive Director of the American Diabetes Association to have a �summit� meeting in Milan with key players on both the scientific and clinical side to develop an agreement about how we should proceed.
I have visited many Member Societies during 2007. These include Egypt, Tunisia, Croatia, Turkey, China, Italy and Uruguay. I have been very impressed with their enthusiasm and their willingness to learn new areas of Laboratory Medicine, ranging from management issues to pure science, exciting new areas such as In Vitro Fertilization and to what the future holds for our discipline.
I have worked extensively with the very efficient IFCC office to plan The General Conference and to work on the logistical side of the first OCD Conference; the Chair of the Scientific Division, has organized an excellent Scientific program. It is also a pleasure to work with a very helpful, supportive and enthusiastic Executive Board, as well as with the Division Chairs who keep all the activities of IFCC running very effectively.
I hope to see the National Representatives from all our Member countries and all our Corporate Members at the General Conference in Turkey next April. We have organized sessions for all of the representatives to be involved in helping develop recommendations for the future of IFCC.
I also wish to remind you that the triennial Congress of IFCC is in Fortaleza, Brazil, starting on September 28. This is where the voting will take place for the next Executive Board. It is important that all national Representatives attend or send a proxy so that the voting is representative of all your views.
For this, my last year as President, I plan to continue my corporate donation program. I also plan to try to get sub-Saharan Africa more involved with IFCC, and to start some initiatives in other parts of laboratory Medicine, other than Clinical Chemistry. I would love to hear from any readers at president@ifcc.org I wish you all a successful and healthy 2008.