Antonio Alarcó, Senator for Tenerife, Professor of Surgery at the University of La Laguna and Director of its Chair of Telemedicine, Robotics and Telesurgery, and Full Member–Elect of the Royal European Academy of Doctors (READ), took part on December 12 in the fifth edition of the Lanzarote Medical Conference in Memory and Tribute to José Molina Orosa, organized by the Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Humanities of Lanzarote, of which he is a Corresponding Member, with the lecture “Caring for Health, Caring for Life: The Power of Prevention and Community.” In a markedly didactic presentation, the expert offered a profound reflection on the need to transform the current healthcare model, shifting the focus from curing disease to the active preservation of health. The session was introduced by the President of the Academy of Lanzarote and Honorary Member of the READ Francisco González de Posada.
According to the professor, the current healthcare system is overly focused on disease and insufficiently on maintaining health, despite the fact that primary prevention is the most effective tool for ensuring sustainability—particularly of the public healthcare model. This preventive approach, he stressed, should not be understood solely as a clinical measure, but also as a sustainability instrument for the public system and an exercise in individual and collective responsibility. In this regard, Alarcó called on both institutions and citizens to place health education and prevention at the center of social coexistence, thereby ensuring not only greater longevity but also a full, high-quality life for the entire community.
Dr. Antonio Alarcó
Along the same lines, Alarcó warned about population aging and the need to adapt the healthcare model to address chronic conditions through early prevention, thus avoiding the collapse of hospital specialties. The academic member–elect emphasized the concept of collective awareness, arguing that an informed and empowered society is capable of mitigating the impact of chronic diseases before they require complex hospital interventions. He combined scientific rigor with a humanistic vision of medicine, noting that caring for life means attending to both biological factors and social and community dimensions.
A renowned physician and scientist, Alarcó is a member of the Executive Board of the European Union of Medical Specialists and serves as Spain’s Governor at the International College of Surgeons, in addition to holding the Presidency of the Canary Islands Association for Medical Education. He is also Honorary President of the Canary Society of Surgery and has published in internationally recognized scientific journals. For its part, the 5th Lanzarote Medical Conference stands out as a benchmark annual event that brings together healthcare professionals and academics to address current challenges in medicine and to pay tribute to the distinguished Canary Islands physician to whom it is dedicated. The conference was held at the Hotel Lancelot Playa in Arrecife with the sponsorship of the Asisa Foundation.
