State Department Helps Planners

WHILE ORGANIZING THE 17th World Conference of Family Doctors, known as Wonca 2004, which took place in Orlando this past October, Sondra Biggs, CMP, director, convention management division, American Academy of Family Physicians, Leawood, Kan., encountered a problem that has become increasingly familiar since 9/11: Overseas physicians complained about the difficult visa application process. This was an especially important issue for Wonca, an international conference that draws the