Not to sing our own praises (well perhaps just a bit), but as Communiqué Award winners for our meeting support, we thought we would share some insights. Sciterion scooped both Global and National categories at this years’ awards and as one of our cornerstone activities, we feel qualified to pass on some observations on optimising healthcare practitioner (HCP) engagement at congresses.
We are all aware of the evolution of congresses to offering virtual and hybrid formats, but what does this mean for HCPs? Whether live, virtual or hybrid, HCPs continue to value congresses highly to engage in true medical and scientific exchange with peers and leaders in their fields. Using technological and digital advances to share similar breakthroughs from the medical field holds a nice parity. Using data visualisation and immersive experiences will maintain the rich, multidimensional, concentrated learning and networking experiences which, at their core, are about experiencing progress – advancing professionally, providing the best care and, collectively, moving the world forward.
To go beyond transactional engagement, we need to create significant conversations while ensuring measurable outcomes. From a pharmaceutical company perspective, this engagement should be enabled at a distance – using the congress platform to share the science, support the information, but with ‘no commercial strings attached’.
Curated content
Introducing a degree of curation (with regards to content, experience and relevance) and personalising congress participation can help delegates to avoid feeling swamped by the choice of sessions and allow them to optimise their congress time. In terms of tactics to employ, there are a number, but using an app which personalises conference information that is bespoke to an HCP’s unique needs and interests is one method. Digital music streaming also gives us some pointers on UX-led consumption and selection of content. Personalised ‘playlists’ of videos/podcasts and webinars from the conference enables a more playful and refreshing experience. Interactivity and feedback can be further encouraged here by inviting delegates to vote on the congress ‘playlist’ content.
A responsive, on-standby, social media presence at congress can be invaluable too, with content published at a regular, steady frequency for late-breaking sessions. Obviously, any content needs to be moderated and Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) – or The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) – compliant, with training required for the content providers to ensure misinformation, false claims or controversial statements do not make their way into the public domain. With recent technology and platform advances, this is now much easier to achieve than in the recent past.
About face on face to face
Face to face meetings have been welcomed back by many HCPs and the social opportunity to network with those from different backgrounds, cultures, experience levels and disciplines has re-opened. However, these opportunities have been haphazard in the past, but as an industry, we can help orchestrate them to drive and define networking in the purest sense.
Didactic learning en masse does not suit many HCPs and being able to take a more interactive role in congresses through peer-to-peer orientated discussion and sharing clinical practice experiences and tips is valued more highly. When supporting with symposia or shaping stand-alone events, this interactivity should be encouraged with any agenda. Mentoring programmes offer a great way to connect KOLs with younger, less experienced HCPs and nurture rising stars. Election-style debates can be streamed to other live venues as well as recorded for further ‘snackable’ content. A further tactic involves using technology and online platforms to deliver practical learning experiences that enhance debate and stimulate discussion (eg ‘tweetorials’).
For many pharmaceutical products in competitive or crowded markets, the maturity of real-world evidence can make a real difference to product differentiation and HCP acceptance. By giving clinical data a face, using a combination of artificial intelligence and case studies, this provides delegates with a chance to practice clinical decision-making and tap into patient-care centred models.
Embedding active learning
As one of the key channels through which HCPs advance professionally, conferences need to facilitate a deeper dialogue at every opportunity. As we move away from a didactic approach to foster deeper engagement and immersive learning, smaller, more intimate experiences where the depth of engagement, rather than the numbers participating, become a more meaningful measure of success. These experiences should not be reserved to or siloed within congress activity alone, but should be part of a connected annual engagement plan with societies and professional bodies.
Although environmental and public health concerns have shaped change in the way we deliver congresses, these factors have also injected creativity and modernisation into the field. It is now up to pharma companies and agencies supporting education and information dissemination to harness that impetus for significant HCP engagement, clinical behaviour change and improved patient outcomes.
Hannah Noel is Scientific Director at Sciterion
