Health Care Professionals on Pharma Meetings: The Inside Scoop
We recently attended one of the industry's most notable life sciences conferences for meeting and event professionals— Pharma Forum. While there, we sat in on insightful discussions, engaged with thought leaders in the industry, and heard from medical professionals about the future of medical meetings, compliance regulations, and contract strategies.
One particular discussion stood out: The Meeting Journey for HCPs - Design Your Meetings Around What HCPs Want - Not What You Want to Teach Them. At this seminar, we heard directly from HCP (health care professional) panelists about their perspectives on medical meetings and what drives HCP attendance. Panelists shared their best and worst meeting experiences, provided thoughtful suggestions for improvement, and revealed what factors drive their decisions to attend and speak at HCP engagements.
The Meeting Journey for HCPs
Generally, healthcare professionals are invited to around 25+ meetings and speaker engagements annually, with some receiving over 100 invitations. Of those invites, HCPs typically attend 5-8. So, how can you make your meeting stand out among the rest? We’ve compiled a list that covers everything we know and have heard from HCPs themselves.
So, why is it important for HCPs to attend medical meetings?
Speaker trainings, peer-to-peer engagements, and industry symposiums all contribute to career development and the advancement of patient care and health outcomes. Benefits of attending can include
1. Enhanced patient care:
Attending a meeting or conference allows for networking with other healthcare professionals and discussing new treatment options for patients. This leads to improved patient outcomes and better healthcare services.
2. Better collaboration:
Pharmaceutical organizations and HCPs can collaborate on research and development of new technology while giving them a platform to share and discuss best practices and new ideas.
3. Increased knowledge and expertise:
Pharmaceutical meetings and client symposiums provide healthcare professionals access to new and developmental research and treatments—allowing them to improve their knowledge and expertise.
4. Networking opportunities:
Maybe one of the most significant benefits—networking with peers. Attending allows healthcare professionals to network with colleagues from different or similar areas of expertise. This can lead to future collaborations and partnerships.
5. Continuing education:
These meetings provide extensive educational opportunities, helping healthcare professionals stay current on the latest advancements in their field.
Generally, healthcare professionals are invited to around 25+ meetings and speaker engagements annually, with some receiving over 100 invitations. Of those invites, HCPs typically attend 5-8. So, how can you make your meeting stand out among the rest? We’ve compiled a list that covers everything we know and have heard from HCPs themselves.
What do HCPs look for when deciding to attend an event?
While attending the 2023 Pharma Forum, we heard from two key opinion leaders, Dr. Mark Roewe and Dr. Joseph Murray. At their seminar, they explained how the best way to create a successful medical event is to focus on the particular needs of the HCPs, not just the desired outcomes for the meeting.
1. More patient-centric meetings
In the past, patients were largely excluded from these meetings—now, this dynamic is shifting. Patients themselves are asking for better representation, while HCPs are looking to see more patient-focused meetings. They want to see patients talk about their journey to recovery and how specific products or procedures helped them get there.
There’s no substitute for having actual patients in attendance—it reignites the power of connection and helps HCPs to reconnect to their sense of purpose for patients. Rather than shining a spotlight on the educational aspect of a meeting, focusing on the patient journey/experience is what HCPs want to see. Stories have a power that transcends numbers–it is not just a way to learn but a way to connect emotionally.
2. Collaboration
Many pharma companies fail to produce a meeting that centers around the needs of HCPs, by focusing on the needs of the industry instead. Take, for example, organizing more sit-down seminars than hands-on lunch & learns. For healthcare professionals, collaboration is crucial for providing high-quality, patient-centered care—and it’s not often they have an opportunity to do so in the same capacity as a medical meeting.
According to Dr. Roewe and Murray, 50% of HCPs are experiencing burnout due to high pressure and stress. Collaboration, then, is a way for HCPs to feel more at ease and more excited about a program. On top of this, it promotes a holistic approach to patient care, improves decision-making, enhances patient outcomes, increases efficiency, and fosters professional development—making it a critical component of a successful meeting.
3. Providing a positive, inviting, and relaxing environment
Among the many benefits, which center primarily around peer-to-peer education and networking, there's another, less obvious one—the chance to get away.
Healthcare professionals often work long hours in a demanding setting. Moments for relaxation or a change of scenery are few and far between. So, when it comes to accepting your invitation, the location might be the first thing on their minds. HCPs want to go somewhere they can enjoy. Think Miami vs. Minnesota. Among the fray of invites, HCPs look for a destination they can make a trip out of, maybe bring their families, and with hope, relax a little bit. This will lead to more than just an accepted invite but enhanced engagement as well.
The location doesn't have to be a resort—but is the meeting space clean and inviting? Are there plenty of windows for natural light? Is it in a cool part of town where attendees can enjoy good, local dining options? According to Dr. Roewe and Murray, these are important marks to hit.
“The 5 E’s”
So, why is it so hard to deliver value to healthcare professionals? "A contributing factor for 55% of Pharma respondents and 47% of service providers is their lack of insight into what HCPs value in terms of content, channels, formats, etc."(1) The industry's primary focus is often on delivering what it values rather than what HCPs value. But as aforementioned, there are simple and effective ways to correct this gap.
When planning, “put yourself in the shoes of healthcare professionals,” says Dr. Roewe. These are people who work long hours and do important, meaningful work. They want to enjoy the atmosphere they're in, feel invigorated by what they learn, and be inspired by fellow industry colleagues. A simple way to do this? Dr. Rowe provides his “5 E’s” to follow when laying the groundwork for a pharma event. If you can uphold these five components, you'll be sure to create a successful event that will attract your target HCPs.
- Education: new research, technology, and tools
- Emotion: patient involvement
- Empower: connectivity and collaboration among colleagues
- Experience: enjoyable, clean, and inviting atmosphere
- Environment: location and venue
For more information on planning your medical meetings and peer-to-peer engagements, contact us at: team@a2ecomms.com
