By Matthew Brady 
Istanbul is easily one of my favourite cities in the world—and I’ve visited many. My first trip in 2006 didn’t disappoint, and when I returned a few years later, it was just as captivating. However, I haven’t had the chance to go back since—until now.
Istanbul is of course a timeless place; its greatest monuments have stood for hundreds of years, and people keep uncovering more of the city’s ancient past. There is a tremendous energy about the place, the people are friendly, and the food is absolutely magnificent.
I was more than happy to attend Future Healthcare Istanbul on its final day, held on the Asian side of Istanbul at Acıbadem Üniversitesi, where I had the chance to meet some fantastic individuals.
Organised by Tazefikir Group, the two-day event brought together healthcare system policymakers, academics, clinical healthcare professionals, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, and healthcare startups, among others.
Talks on Day 2 addressed healthcare amid the climate crisis, and digital health. “Artificial Intelligence in Health: Ethics and Safety” was for example presented by Radiation Therapist Reyhan Özgüleş from Nişantaşı University, and Assoc. Prof. Serhat Tozburun from the Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center at Dokuz Eylul University, and co-founder of Healysense, spoke about an “AI-driven Hybrid System for Aortic Aneurysm and Dissection Analysis”.
There was even a presentation on healthcare journalism and PR, delivered by Yelda Gökdağ Arıkanoğlu, founder of Ankara-based PR firm Büyülü Dağ İletişim Ajansı, who quite rightly emphasised that “Journalism and PR are two concepts that are very intertwined, but they need to be separated very delicately due to their boundaries. When it comes to health journalism, this is an issue that requires much more attention. Because it directly concerns human health. As in health journalism, the primary aim in health PR should be to inform the public correctly.”
I quickly made new connections at the event, including with Yelda, and came away more knowledgeable about both the digital health scene in Türkiye and the correct pronunciation of “kofte”.