Pharmafile Logo

In-person, hybrid, or digital? State of Pharma meetings and events in 2024

March 18, 2024 |  

We’re diving into the state of pharmaceutical meetings and events in 2024 and–once and for all–put the idea of in-person meetings being superior to rest.

- PMLiVE

Whether we’re talking offices, medical congresses, or advisory board meetings, the term “hybrid” is often used to signal the ideal state. The place where everyone’s needs are being met. The best of both worlds. In the era of digital transformation, it is predicted that 2024 will be the year that finally cements hybrid meetings as the norm (1), with all-virtual meetings continuing to be a popular option. Yet, some people are holding onto the idea of in-person meetings being superior. In this article, we’re diving into the state of pharmaceutical meetings and events in 2024 and–once and for all–put this idea to rest.

Why in-person-only should be a thing of the past

I’ve written and talked about the blindspots of in-person meetings for over 16 years now, but it’s only been in the past few years that the benefits of virtual engagements have gained mainstream acceptance. There are multiple reasons why in-person-only meetings should be laid to rest, including, but not limited to, the facts that they are:

  • Expensive
  • Associated with a large environmental footprint
  • Inflexible and not accommodating to everyone’s schedules, work or personal commitments, and preferences
  • Susceptible to last-minute no-shows due to flight delays or poor driving conditions

Specifically for advisory boards and other insight-gathering initiatives, the in-person-only approach comes with additional pain points such as:

  • Valuable time wasted on didactic data presentations
  • Very limited “air time” per participant
  • Uneven share of voice, with more extroverted or senior advisors tending to take up more speaking time
  • A tendency for answers to be “knee-jerk reactions” rather than thought-through responses and for people to simply ‘agree’ with others
  • Limited ability to dive deeper into interesting or controversial ideas
  • Suboptimal diversity of advisors due to potential geographic or language barriers

Most important, though, is the fact that participants don’t want only in-person meetings. Based on our survey of hundreds of healthcare provider advisors in 2022–2023, over three-quarters stated that they prefer virtual/hybrid meetings, with the convenience and flexibility of digital meetings rated as the top benefits…

[Read the full article here]

This content was provided by Impetus Digital

Company Details

 Latest Content from  Impetus Digital 

Advancing Precision Medicine in Oncology

Jerome Madison, Host of The Precision Medicine Podcast, shares his leadership lessons and tips for building and training new sales teams in the era of precision medicine. He also dives...

Wearable Technologies for Detecting Pre-Symptomatic Illness and Infections

Dr. Tejaswini Mishra, Research Scientist at Stanford University School of Medicine, dives into her research on using wearable technologies for detecting COVID-19 and other diseases before patients become symptomatic. Among...

Search Listening as a Tool to Inform Brand Strategy & Enable Patient-Centricity

Julia Walsh, CEO of Brand Medicine International, explores the concept of “search listening” in healthcare, and how it can be used to inform brand strategy, improve patient-centricity, and fight scientific...

Top 10 Tips for Running a Successful Virtual Event

Based on 13 years of experience in virtualizing life science meetings and events

There’s No Going Back: How COVID-19 will Change Pharma Forever

Munther Baara, VP Product Strategy and Innovation at EDETEK, discusses all things clinical trials. Especially, we discuss the current gaps and the impact of COVID-19 on the way Pharma approaches...

Leading Successful Change Through Innovative Digital Technologies

Cassie Solomon, CEO of The New Group Consulting, dives into the future of innovation, digital technologies, and systems thinking in healthcare. Among many other things, we discuss how organizations can prepare...

Alternative Approaches to Personalized Medicine in Oncology

Laura Towart, Founder & CEO of My Personal Therapeutics, discusses her company’s approach to precision medicine, the barriers patients with cancer face when trying to access personalized treatments, and how...

Reimagining Healthcare Using Mobile Health Technologies

Kim Shah, CEO of KnowYourMeds, explores digital health, AI, telemedicine, health literacy, and how to ensure a safe return to work amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We also dive into...

Gene Editing and Precision Medicine: The Future of Healthcare?

Dr. Oscar Segurado, Chief Medical Officer at ASC Therapeutics, dives into advanced gene therapies, gene editing, and personalized medicine. We also explore the many different hats he wears as CMO, consultant,...