Allied Health Conference Topics

Allied health workers are medical professionals who work alongside physicians and nurses to provide comprehensive care to patients. As of 2011, the U.S. has about 5 million allied health care providers across more than 80 different professions. Allied health fields include respiratory therapy, speech pathology, nutrition, radiography, opthalmology, occupational therapy and physiotherapy. Allied health conferences are held worldwide and cover topics that enable allied health professionals, policymakers and consumers to learn the critical issues impacting health care delivery.

Respiratory Care

• Respiratory care topics at allied health conferences include smoking cessation, food allergies, palliative or end-of-life care, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, drugs for asthma treatment and lung cancers. National Jewish Health covered these topics at its 15th annual regional health conference. Respiratory therapists and other asthma educators seeking continuing education credits were encouraged to attend because some of the sessions covered information from National Jewish Health's Asthma Educator Certification examination.

Ophthalmology

• Eye disease professionals and consumers alike would be interested in knowing that ophthalmology is a topic at allied health conferences. Ophthalmic conditions include glaucoma care in adults and babies, diabetes-related disease of the retina, age-related macular degeneration and the ophthalmic effects of Bell's palsy. In addition to disease care, ophthalmic topics at allied health conferences include determining the source of eye trauma in vulnerable populations like children and examining the rotation of the retina using dye tracing.

Maritime Health

• Working in a very specialized allied health field, maritime health workers generally provide care for sea and cruise ship workers. Topics at a maritime health conference include search and rescue medicine, infectious diseases and medical problems of fishers. Subject matter may also recognize that many health care issues are directly attributable to the lifestyle of living aboard a ship. Contributory health factors include social problems among crew members, piracy threats, ecological problems and substance abuse.

Telemedicine

• Telemedicine is an allied health field because almost every health care professional has to use technology and telecommunications to communicate patient data. As a result, telemedicine is a topic at allied health conferences. For example, the American Telemedicine Association's 16th annual international meeting covered electronic medical records, diagnostic imaging, remote monitoring of home care, mobile health care, technology and telecommunications.