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An important part of this process will be training of doctors.  Here are some ideas about how this can be done.

       Today there are almost 30 doctors practicing IPT.  Only two of them,  Dr. Perez Garcia 3 and SGA,  have more than 2 years of IPT experience, and are certified to train other doctors.  If this practice is to rapidly become universally available, that number will need to grow by a factor of at least thousands.  How best to fill this gap?  How can these few experienced doctors help train so many more?

        IPT is both simple and complex, both easy and difficult.   The pioneering IPT doctors have found that it is very easy to learn the basics of IPT, and that it takes a long time to get really good at it.  

        IPT, like the medicine that it is part of, is an art.  Research can help support and guide it.  But in the end it is always the experience of the doctor that meets and addresses the problems of the patient.  In the end it is the individual doctor who takes action.  And the doctor can only really learn this art from experience, either his own or that of other doctors.

        Dr. Perez Garcia 3, grandson of Dr. Perez Garcia 1, the discoverer of IPT,  described openly and honestly in an email what it was like for him to learn IPT.  "It took me from 1983 until 1989 to learn and get acquainted with IPT [working with his father, Dr. Perez Garcia y Bellon 2].   During those years I was learning, and I was not confident practicing IPT by myself.  After 1989, when I moved to Tijuana, I was scared, but I decided to go ahead and do it by myself.  From 1989 until 1994 I learned and developed IPT according to my current situation.  In the process I learned several ways of not doing IPT. At the present time I am beginning to enjoy IPT and its results."  So it took him years of experience to get to this point.  How can this process of gaining experience and confidence be accelerated?

        The information on this website -- articles, theory, patents, protocols, and case histories -- is probably enough for any doctor, based on his education and experience, to figure out how to practice IPT at a beginning level.  If all the experienced IPT doctors were to suddenly disappear into a time warp, there is enough information here, there are enough hints here, for a few curious doctors to try the practice and reconstruct it, over a period of decades, through their own failures and successes.   It would not be exactly the same IPT, and some of the discoveries of the IPT pioneers might never be recovered.  But it would continue to help patients.

        How fortunate we are, though, that one very experienced IPT doctor is alive with us today.   Dr. Perez Garcia 3, with 17 years of IPT experience, is enthusiastic about devoting more of his time to training other doctors, and sharing his knowledge and experience with them.  He incorporates the best teachings from his recently deceased father, Dr. Perez Garcia y Bellon 2 (44 years of IPT experience), and his grandfather,  Dr. Perez Garcia 1, the discoverer of IPT (43 years of experience).  Dr. Perez Garcia 3 has taken the lead role with his IPT training program.

        If IPT is for real, we need a good IPT training program so millions of patients can be helped.  What would a mature IPT training program look like?    How can we set up an education program to help doctors learn IPT faster and with more confidence?    I present the following ideas as a catalyst for discussion.   

Possible Elements of an IPT Education and Training Program

1. A medical textbook on IPT, briefly outlining the theory, practice, and scientific basis for IPT.  A list of medications found useful for IPT, and those found not to work so well, along with notes on how to modify doses of each drug for use in IPT.  Also a "recipe" guide section that lists typical combinations and doses of medications that have been found to work for certain diseases.
   
   
2. An IPT curriculum for doctors.  This could fit into various existing Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs.  It could incorporate the IPT textbook, printed teaching materials, and video or multimedia demonstration and instruction programs.   Experienced instructors, and hands-on demonstrations and experience would help make this a very high-quality educational experience.
   
   
3. An IPT curriculum for medical schools.  Probably a shorter unit as part of an existing class sequence.  Additional materials would be available for interested students.
   
   
4. IPT internship programs.  Here medical school graduates could work side-by-side with experienced IPT doctors in a clinical setting.  Probably the best way to learn IPT.
   
   
5. A web-based curriculum.  This could be simple or elaborate.  Or there can be sequential levels.  Text files for theory and reference.  Multimedia lectures and demonstrations.  Links to other IPT resources.  Discussion forums and email lists for students.  Final examination and certificate of completion.  The advantage of a web-based curriculum is that doctors around the world can learn from it.
   
   
6. A field curriculum.  Certain basic IPT procedures could be quickly taught to doctors and other health workers who are either already working in less developed regions, or are about to.  If there is a single disease to be treated, or a few diseases, the details of basic treatment can be taught in a few days. Perhaps even in a few hours, if there is an emergency.   While this will not provide a lot of experience in advance, these health workers will gain plenty of IPT experience very rapidly, as they address the tremendous health needs of the people they serve.  And even basic level IPT is probably much, much better than no IPT.  A concise guidebook and reference materials can be provided.  Also web or phone access to the worldwide IPT database, and experienced consultants, will keep a world of IPT experience within easy reach, even in remote areas.
   
   
7. Emergency field guide.  A concise guidebook for basic IPT procedures.  It could be packed in a kit with basic IPT supplies and medications for use on expeditions, in remote laboratories (such as at the South Pole), and for long missions in space.    Support can also be provided from outside consultants, if communications links are present.  
   
   
8. An archive of interviews, information, and documents obtained from Dr. Donato Perez Garcia y Bellon 2.   He is aging, and this needs to be done as soon as possible, so that his knowledge and 44 years of experience, and the knowledge and 43 years of experience of his father, are not lost forever. [Unfortunately it is too late to interview him.  But his papers could have much priceless information.]
   
   
9. A society of doctors who practice IPT.  Through presentation of papers, and through personal meeting and interaction, IPT experience can be shared and built upon.  This could start as an interest group within the existing medical societies.  Websites, online forums, chat rooms, and email discussion groups could help link all these doctors using the Internet.   We have already found that an email address is almost a requirement for today's IPT doctors to stay in touch with each other.
   
   
10. A journal about IPT would concentrate relevant information in one place, and would encourage IPT research.
    
    
11. A video archive of edited IPT cases.   This could be a valuable asset for any IPT curriculum.  Through editing, the progress of an IPT treatment can be shortened to a few minutes.  Each case could show the patient before, during, and after treatment, along with commentary by the experienced doctor.  This way the viewer can watch the highlights of perhaps five to ten IPT treatments per hour, 40 to 80 per day.  A very fast way to accumulate IPT experience with the diversity of patients and diseases.
    
    
12. An IPT doctor certification system.  Without this, someone could just read a book or website and say that he is an IPT doctor.  Instead, experienced IPT doctors can decide what level of experience and training is required for certification.  A recognized trademark name and logo would be developed.   This mark and certificate would help reassure patients and doctors.  This system could also be extended to certify IPT instructors.
    
    
13. Individual doctor logbook.  Just as airplane pilots keep track of their hours, and laser eye surgeons keep track of the number of procedures they have performed, perhaps IPT doctors need to keep track of their years of experience, the number of IPT treatments they have performed, and the number of patients they have treated.  This will provide an easy statistic to help patients choose doctors based on experience.
    
    
14. An online database of IPT doctors, drugs, mixture recipes, and case reports.  Searchable and interactive.  This can be built on and updated without printing costs, and made available for free, or for a nominal fee, to all IPT doctors worldwide.  A committee could review submissions from doctors, to maintain focus and quality.  Subsets and summaries of this database could be printed and updated every year, for convenient use in the field.  
    
    This has already begun.  Here on IPTQ.com are listings of IPT doctors, and protocols for specific non-cancer diseases are becoming available on the IPTdoctors e-group.
    

The IPT doctors and I are primed to help get this process going immediately.  There are many possible sources for the support needed to do it right.  Which major philanthropists want to provide the initial boost?