Boehringer Ingelheim partners to improve health equity in remote and rural communities

Pharma News: Boehringer Ingelheim has partnered to deliver specialist healthcare services to remote and rural communities.

This year, The Heart of Australia NextGen Medics Program supported by Boehringer Ingelheim, will enable 20 medical and allied health students to spend a combined 240 days ‘on the road’, immersed in Heart of Australia’s rural health program.

The students will have the unique opportunity to experience the communities, medical practices, service delivery, and most importantly the possibilities that come with a career in rural healthcare – an experience they cannot gain through standard training.

Dirk Otto, General Manager, Boehringer Ingelheim Australia and New Zealand, said the NextGen Medics Program was perfectly aligned with the company’s commitments to expand access to rural healthcare and to improve the sustainability of the healthcare workforce – now and for the future.

Mr Otto recently witnessed a Heart of Australia mobile clinic in operation in the Central Queensland town of Biloela, around 600km from Brisbane, noting first-hand the disparity between healthcare services in metropolitan and rural/remote parts of Australia.

“The distinct lack of access to health services and specialist medical care in rural and remote parts of Australia is abundantly clear and extremely concerning,” said Mr Otto.

“Boehringer Ingelheim wants to be part of the solution, to help expand access to quality healthcare – especially for vulnerable communities,” he said.

“The Heart of Australia partnership is an example of Boehringer Ingelheim’s commitment to sustainable development for generations.”

Heart of Australia Founder and cardiologist, Dr Rolf Gomes, welcomed the new partnership, stating “Like Heart of Australia, Boehringer Ingelheim values innovation and recognises that building and improving the sustainability of the rural healthcare workforce, is fundamental to improving health outcomes for rural and remote communities”.

“Thank you to Boehringer Ingelheim for supporting the development of the next generation of healthcare practitioners and contributing to the delivery of life-saving and life-changing medical care to rural and remote communities for years to come,” said Dr Gomes.

“We look forward to reviewing applications from medical and allied health students keen to learn how ECG tests, sleep tests and radiology diagnostic procedures are performed on the road, for people who may not have the time, means, proximity or know-how to access these healthcare services,” Dr Gomes concluded.

Heart of Australia has partnerships with several pharma and medtech organisations, including Philips, Bayer, Janssen, Abbott and Medtronic.

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