Cardiovascular, Metabolic and Kidney Disease: Crosscutting Science and Best Practice in Multimorbidity - a Multispecialty Conference at the Royal College of Physicians.

Patients with multimorbidity are increasingly encountered, especially with an ageing population and the co-segregation of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, obesity and hypertension, but the care of these patients is fragmented and research rarely undertaken within this group. Research into genetic biomarkers and the evolution of crosscutting multiorgan science, resulting in collaboration between specialties for the treatment of patients with multimorbidity, should be the next major step change in medicine. Evolving technology is making this possible. However, there is a necessity to instigate more collaborative multispecialty research efforts to provide the evidence needed to move treatment possibilities forward, leading to the capability for a major redesign of clinical practice. The patient must be at the centre of a new, radically changed and holistic journey and collaborative research with primary care is essential, as general practitioners and primary care colleagues are the experts dealing with common multimorbidities, including those due to long-term poor lifestyle.