In February 2018, Ashfield, a global event management company serving the healthcare sector, released a study titled The Science of Healthcare Professional Meetings. This report is a white paper “comparing and contrasting the perceptions of healthcare professionals (HCPs) and diving deeper into the ongoing evolution of the medical meetings landscape.”
“The Science Of Healthcare Professional Meetings was a global study, created in collaboration with Ashfield Insight’s market research team. It incorporated 237 respondents across four key markets and focused on four specialty areas. Each respondent had attended at least one scientific meeting within the last 12 months and had been qualified for an average of 16 years. The 2018 research outlines key considerations that have the potential to support the HCP learning journey and enhance participation at meetings.”
While the study focused exclusively on healthcare professionals, much of the information is relevant to the general meeting and event industry, especially for education driven conferences or events. All meeting and event planners should consider the following takeaways when planning their next educational event: a focus on interactive learning and engagement; integration of useful technology; and an emphasis on “new” education topics.
RESULTS RELEVANT TO ALL MEETINGS & CONFERENCES
In general, education-focused meetings should focus on being both time-efficient and specific, due to the majority of respondents preferring short meetings. It is also important to focus on accessibility — putting the presented content online for attendees to be able to access later can set your next meeting apart!
RESULTS RELEVANT TO MEDICAL MEETINGS & CONFERENCES
For medical meetings, results show that attendees look for tightly focused educational sessions with opportunities to learn more directly from specialists and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs). Planners, aim to ensure that everyone is able to take some tangible information back that they can incorporate into their practice.
