The Biggest Challenges for Medical Meetings in 2026

Compliance has always been at the top of the list for planners of medical meetings, but now they are faced with the changing expectations of healthcare professionals (HCPs), as that audience grows younger. Add to that cost increases for meeting budgets that were planned over a year ago and the impact of geopolitics on their destination decisions, and they have been forced to rethink how they deliver meetings.

They’re also facing a shift in their roles, which used to focus primarily on logistics. Now they’re expected to be event strategists, responsible for attendee engagement as well as adhering to meal caps.

Following are some of the biggest shifts, shared during this week’s Backstage Briefing featuring Jody Brandes, associate director, internal meetings and strategy at Gilead Sciences; Pat Schaumann, CEO of Schaumann Consulting Group, and Samantha Steinkeler, life sciences champion at Meetings and Incentives Worldwide (M&IW).

Global Compliance

Not only does every company have its own rules and regulations, but so do each of the U.S. states and different countries. Right now, there are 88 countries with some type of compliance regulations.

Planners are under pressure to keep up with changes, which can sometimes happen monthly.

“The limitations of each individual country just get more and more complex,” said Steinkeler. Her planners have established an internal forum to share about what they have learned regarding specific countries and changes in compliance. AI can be helpful for research, but it is not entirely reliable, said Schaumann, who has written multiple books on compliance.

Adapting to the Different Generations

Both meeting agendas and content delivery have had to adapt to the shorter attention spans of younger attendees. “We’ve moved away from the regular format — starting at 8 a.m. with a break and lunch,” said Steinkeler.

She looks for settings that are bright spaces with open windows. Instead of traditional coffee breaks, she suggests breaks that give people the chance to get outside and take a walk with colleagues — or better yet, holding the break outside.

Brandes has shifted the way her meetings deliver content. “With social media, even with TV and news, all of our attention spans have dropped,” she said. “So we’re looking at: bite-sized pieces, videos, images, ticker tape lines — things that keep people engaged.”

A younger generation of HCPs is seeking more work-life balance. This means that meetings need to break the traditional Friday-to-Saturday pattern, and that planners need to offer opportunities to explore the destination while attending the congress.

Shaumann suggests seeking out untraditional venues, such the Viticus Center in Las Vegas, a 144,000-square-foot medical training and event facility, or the CAMLS Center in Tampa, a 90,000-square-foot simulation facility.

Shifting Planner Roles 

Schaumann predicts that the title of meeting planner could see a change in the next five years. The planner of the future is an experiential leader, a data-driven strategist, and a cross-functional compliance partner, not just an event executor.

Medical meeting planners’ skills are now a blend of data analysis, engagement strategy, medical and scientific translation, and compliance expertise.

“Medical meeting planners in 2026 are operating in one of the most complex environments the industry has ever seen,” said Schaumann. “It’s not just about logistics anymore, you’re a strategic experience architect. You’re driven by technology. You have compliance complexity, changing expectations, and a generation shift of clinicians, patients, and industry partners.”

Rising Costs, Risks, and Geopolitical Uncertainty

Medical meeting planners are grappling with rising fuel costs, immigration policies, war, tariffs, and protests.

Retaliation has also been reported as an issue. One planner with a meeting in Whistler, Canada, arrived on site only to find that their materials were being held up at customs and not going to be released. “If we’re not getting along with some of the countries where you’re holding your meeting, you might want to make sure that you have backup plans,” said Schaumann.

Steinkeler has seen cancellations and regrouping on destinations among her clients, and an increase in spending on security.

Pharma companies are keeping signage to a minimum, if at all. “We keep it very low key,” said Steinkeler. “We have to be ready for protests. That’s the industry we’re in.”

Though travel prices are growing at twice the rate of inflation, many planners are still operating with flat budgets. Brandes said her company has become “more directive and prescriptive on who should attend meetings.

“We’re really looking at who’s attending, why they’re attending, and making sure it’s a good use of time and money.”

View the webinar here.