Current Trends in Medical Meetings and Events

In the era of digital transformation and the ever-evolving landscape of life science, pharma, and healthcare industry, medical meetings and events are transforming to keep up with the demands of researchers and practitioners. Recent trends reflect a growing emphasis on hybrid and virtual formats, offering unprecedented flexibility and accessibility. Cutting-edge tools and interactive content using digital platforms, like Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are being harnessed to create immersive and personalized experiences. Concurrently, there is a heightened focus on data-driven approaches, wellness, sustainability, and patient-centered care, ensuring that these gatherings not only advance medical knowledge but also promote holistic well-being.

Virtual Vs. Hybrid Vs. Face-to-Face

Choosing to have a virtual, hybrid, or face-to-face meeting depends on a variety of factors like accessibility, engagement, and logistics, each one with its advantages and shortcomings.
While physical meetings have a huge budget implication, they may also limit participation due to geographic, regulatory, or personal reasons, and have an adverse environmental impact due to increased carbon footprint. It may be the most effective in facilitating better engagement through spontaneous discussions and non-verbal communication. It allows the opportunity for networking and building relationships through informal conversations. Face-to-face meetings also facilitate a more hands-on approach, increased interactivity, live Q&As, and real-time feedback.
One may believe virtual meetings might be the solution to the above problems as you can include participants from anywhere in the world, which reduces the cost of travel, venue, accommodation, hospitality, and the least carbon footprint. Virtual meetings are easier to schedule and convenient as the meetings can be recorded and made available on a demand basis. But this also does not allow us to interact with a like-minded community and limits the opportunity for informal meetings and building relationships. There can be technical glitches, connectivity issues, and software malfunctions which makes it harder to engage and interact with the participants.
Hybrid requires careful and precise planning as we need to integrate both the virtual and physical participants. The costs can be higher as both a venue and virtual infrastructure are needed, also making it challenging to carry out a seamless and engaging experience for both. However, this combines the benefit of both virtual and face-to-face meetings, allowing the participants to choose their mode of participation. Hybrid meetings also help us leverage technology to enhance the physical experience with elements like live streaming and digital Q&A sessions.

Interactive Content

Interactive content for medical meetings can significantly enhance engagement, learning, and collaboration among participants. Irrespective of the mode of the meeting interactive elements like live polls and surveys, Q&A sessions, focus groups, breakout sessions, simulations interactive boards, gamification, expert chat rooms, etc., make these events more dynamic, engaging, and effective providing a richer experience to all.

There are many online platforms (like Slido, Mentimeter, MSForms, SurveyMonkey, etc.) that allow to facilitate live polling, surveys and submit questions via chat. The moderator can filter and present these results live during the sessions. Incorporating quizzes, puzzles, and challenges related to the sessions helps grab the participant’s attention. Exhibits like virtual booths and live demos allow for interactive Q&A and hands-on experience. Chat rooms and forums provide a focused platform where the participants can engage and interact with experts in real time. The use of AR and VR to provide immersive training experiences or simulate complex medical procedures has been on the rise in recent years.

Data-driven Insights

This has become a norm in today’s day in optimizing medical meetings by enabling organizers to make informed decisions and enhance the overall experience for participants. Collecting data on attendee demographics, interests, and behaviors helps tailor content and sessions to better meet the needs of participants. Tracking sessions that the participants have attended or interacted with allows for real-time adjustments and better planning for future events. Real-time polling and surveys can be implemented to gather immediate feedback on sessions, speakers, and overall event satisfaction. Capturing this information will help organizers make adjustments to the presentations or content during the event, ensuring it remains relevant and engaging.

Sustainability and Green Initiatives

Sustainability and green initiatives are becoming increasingly important in conducting medical events. These practices aim to reduce the environmental impact of events to promote responsible resource use. Shifting from printed materials to digital resources such as e-brochures, mobile apps, online agendas, etc. helps minimize paper waste. Implementing comprehensive recycling programs at venues assists in managing waste effectively and reduces the environmental footprint. Choosing a green-certified venue that uses energy-efficient lighting, cooling, and heating systems is an effective way to adapt to sustainability. Partnering with local caterers that use locally sourced, organic, and seasonal ingredients helps reduce food miles and support local agriculture. Offering portion sizes that reflect attendee numbers and clear labeling are great strategies to minimize food waste. Conducting a green event also means calculating the event’s carbon footprint and investing in carbon offset programs to compensate for unavoidable emissions. Using reusable items like water bottles, coffee mugs, and tote bags instead of single-use plastics is also an effective way of adapting sustainable practices. By integrating these green initiatives, medical meetings and events can significantly reduce their environmental impact, align with broader corporate social responsibility goals, and set a positive example for attendees and the industry.

Patient-centric Approach

Patient-centric sessions are a vital component of various medical events like conferences, clinical trial forums, and patient advocacy gatherings. These sessions, such as patient panels, focus groups, and advisory boards integrate patient experiences and insights directly into the discussions, offering real-world perspectives that can shape research and treatment strategies. By involving patients in discussions about their health journey and treatment experiences, these sessions ensure that research is more relevant and responsive to actual patient needs and address the current gaps in treatment. They enhance the value of events by bridging the gap between clinical research and patient realities driving more effective and patient-centered innovations. This approach not only improves treatment development but also fosters greater engagement and collaboration between researchers, healthcare providers, and the patient community.

As the field continues to innovate, these trends are shaping the future of how medical professionals connect, learn, and collaborate.

Authors: 

Raghuraj Puthige, PhD., eMDP
Function Head, Medical Communications – Enago Life Sciences
Connect with Raghuraj on LinkedIn

Rachita Rao 
Project Manager, Medical Communications – Enago Life Sciences
Connect with Rachita on LinkedIn