Healthcare Professionals Want Interaction, Not Just Talking Heads

Medical meeting planners need to shift their strategies to meet the preferences of younger attendees, according to new joint research of 251 healthcare professionals (HCPs) across the U.S. and Western Europe by Emota and the International Pharmaceutical Congress Advisory Association (IPCAA).

The research found that overall, 66% of respondents were very satisfied with the medical meetings they had attended in the past year (and 34% were quite satisfied). However, while their predecessors might have been content to sit theater-style and listen to lecturers, many HCPs attending pharma meetings today want more: Almost a third (32%) reported “insufficient interaction opportunities“ as one of their top three annoyances with pharma meetings.

Carine Desroches, meetings and events director, National Kidney Foundation, is seeing that play out at her events. “We continue to see very high satisfaction scores but at the same time, expectations have clearly risen. HCPs are no longer satisfied with strong content alone — they are looking for experiences and activations that feel personalized, intentional, and easy to navigate.”

Much of this demand for active versus passive engagement is due to the younger generations that have entered the workforce, said David D’Eletto, managing partner at Meeting Alliance, who has been planning meetings in this sector for 27 years. “There is a call to redesign session structures by integrating shorter presentations followed by collaborative discussions or simulated real-world scenarios.”

More meetings include things like case-based workshops, expert-led panels, and roundtable discussions. “Access, relevance, and format matter just as much as the science itself,” said Desroches.

Unmet Needs

The survey also found that 39% of HCPs felt that too many topics were being scheduled at the same time, unnecessarily causing them to miss out on certain sessions, and 32% would like small group sessions to repeat so they could have more opportunity to interact with the presenters. 

For meetings that include trade shows, half of HCPs said they visit the booths to learn about new products or pipeline developments, while 37% said they expect to see specific clinical data or research. Scheduled meetings and networking with company experts are a low priority for HCPs.

For professionals who can’t take the time to attend in person, the research revealed an “unmet need” for virtual attendance options, centralized digital platforms, and post-meeting follow-up communications. A full 80% of respondents said the best format for medical education is a combination of live-streamed and on-demand recorded content.

“If there is one overlooked opportunity, it is post-congress engagement,” said Mark Jackson, managing director at Emota. “HCPs do not just want content after an event, they expect it.” 

Nonetheless, medical meetings are still getting results for the sponsoring pharma companies: Two out of three respondents reported changing their clinical practice or prescribing behaviors based on information received at the medical symposia they attend.