Following the landmark EUROPREV Forum in Madrid, which celebrated 30 years of the network’s dedication to evidence-based health promotion, a new chapter begins. Prof. Dr. Serdar Öztora (Türkiye) has officially assumed the role of Chair. In this exclusive interview, he discusses the evolution of the "Gatekeeper" into the "Safekeeper," the new seven-point roadmap for primary care, and how a multidisciplinary background in coding and sociology is shaping his vision for the network's future.
To set the stage for our readers, what should they know about EUROPREV and its core mission within the broader WONCA Europe family?
Prof. Dr. Serdar Öztora: EUROPREV is one of the six official networks of WONCA Europe, dedicated to prevention and health promotion in family medicine and primary care. Its core mission is to help family doctors translate the best available evidence into meaningful, person-centred preventive care. Prevention is not only about screening or checklists; it is about supporting healthier lives, reducing avoidable illness, and protecting people from unnecessary interventions. Within the broader WONCA Europe family, EUROPREV serves as a bridge between science, policy, and the everyday realities of general practice.
As we celebrate EUROPREV’s 30th anniversary, what do you consider the most significant landmarks or achievements the network has reached since its inception in 1996?
SÖ: Over the last three decades, EUROPREV has grown from an emerging initiative into a well-established and respected voice for prevention in European family medicine. Founded in 1996 during the WONCA Europe Conference in Stockholm, it began with a clear mission: to promote evidence-based disease prevention and health promotion in family medicine across Europe. An important milestone in this journey was its formal admission to the WONCA Europe Executive Board in 2023, reflecting the network’s growing role and maturity within the European family medicine community.
Throughout these years, EUROPREV has created lasting connections between colleagues, countries, and professional cultures. It has contributed through research, policy statements, and international dialogue, while consistently promoting evidence-based and proportionate prevention. Most importantly, EUROPREV has kept prevention closely linked to the values of family medicine—continuity, trust, and person-centred care.
The recent Forum in Madrid celebrated this three-decade journey. What was the most significant achievement or takeaway from this specific gathering?
SÖ: The Forum in Madrid was especially meaningful because it combined reflection on EUROPREV’s 30-year journey with a forward-looking discussion on the future of prevention. A major takeaway was the shared commitment to prevention that is safe, effective, person-centred, and equitable. The programme addressed timely issues such as overdiagnosis, health inequalities, community-based prevention, and evidence-informed decision making. There was a strong sense that family medicine has a central role in shaping smarter and more humane prevention for the years ahead.
A major theme in Madrid was the shift from "Gatekeeper" to "Safekeeper." How do you define this role for the modern family doctor?
SÖ: For many years, family doctors were described as “gatekeepers,” meaning they guide access within health systems. While that role remains important, today we must also be “safekeepers.” A safekeeper protects patients from fragmentation, misinformation, overtreatment, and unnecessary anxiety. We help patients navigate complexity safely. We safeguard continuity, evidence, proportionality, and human connection. In a world of expanding tests, apps, and conflicting advice, the family doctor’s role is increasingly to keep care wise, safe, and humane.
You presented a roadmap based on the paper "Seven ways to optimise prevention in general practice." How do you envision these seven points changing the daily reality of the consultation room?
SÖ: The roadmap is designed to make prevention more realistic and more impactful. Family doctors face limited time and competing priorities; we cannot do everything for everyone. The roadmap encourages us to focus on what truly matters: strong primary care foundations, interventions with meaningful benefit, individual risk assessment, and avoiding low-value prevention. If applied well, it can reduce noise and help clinicians use their limited time where it creates the greatest benefit.
The Forum highlighted the "innovation of prudence." How will EUROPREV support physicians in knowing when to avoid unnecessary tests?
SÖ: Modern medicine has extraordinary tools, but more medicine does not always mean better medicine. We must promote the “innovation of prudence”—using science not only to know what to do, but also what not to do. This includes clearer communication of benefits and harms, better use of absolute risk concepts, and empowering clinicians to have honest conversations with patients about uncertainty.
Are there plans to formalize a "Madrid Declaration" to set a new European standard for preventive care?
SÖ: There is growing interest in carrying forward the ideas from our Forums in a more lasting way. Whether it takes the form of a “Madrid Declaration” or a similar consensus document, it offers an opportunity to articulate a shared European vision of prevention—one that is evidence-based, person-centred, equitable, and mindful of excess.
With your recent degree in Web Design and Coding (2025), how do you plan to use technology to close the "implementation gap" in preventive practice?
SÖ: I’ve always believed in developing the skills needed for new responsibilities. Understanding digital systems and workflows is highly relevant to modern academic work. For EUROPREV, these experiences—alongside my studies in Health Management and Sociology—reinforce that successful prevention requires more than just evidence; it requires digital literacy, communication, and insight into human behaviour. My aim is to make EUROPREV more connected, efficient, and responsive to the real needs of family doctors.
As a musician, do you see a parallel between music and preventive medicine?
SÖ: Absolutely. Music teaches discipline, listening, and harmony. In music, silence can be as important as sound. In medicine, restraint can be just as important as intervention. Good prevention is not about doing more, but about knowing when and how to act in a way that fits the person’s life.
What specific milestone do you hope will define your term as EUROPREV Chair?
SÖ: I hope to help EUROPREV grow into a stronger, more visible, and more connected network. My ambition is to support a culture of collaboration where colleagues across countries feel encouraged to work together. If, at the end of my term, colleagues feel that EUROPREV is more dynamic and relevant than before, that would be a legacy I would be proud of.
As a lifelong learner, what book are you currently reading, and how is it influencing your perspective on leadership?
SÖ: As a lifelong learner, I often read across disciplines rather than only within medicine. I find that perspectives from sociology, behavioural science, and history are just as valuable as clinical journals. I tend to read thought-provoking books on how systems change and how people cooperate under complexity, as well as historical works that offer lessons from the past. They help me step back, see the bigger picture, and reflect on how people and systems evolve over time.
About Prof. Dr. Serdar Öztora
Prof. Dr. Serdar Öztora is a Professor of Family Medicine at Trakya University, Türkiye. He holds a long-standing career in clinical practice and research. Reflecting a commitment to lifelong learning, he holds degrees in Health Management (2020) and Web Design and Coding (2025), and is currently pursuing studies in Sociology. He has served as a member of the EUROPREV Coordinating Group since 2023 and currently serves on the Executive Board of WONCA Europe.
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Published on 30 April 2026.