Are virtual congresses 
here to stay?

After a year of virtual congresses, Chris Ross looks at what we’ve learned in the last 12 months and what pharma can do to improve the virtual experience by continuing to design congresses around known customer behaviours and needs.

In his article on page 26, Chris says: “A recent study of healthcare professionals’ experiences of virtual congresses revealed that, despite the convenience of remote models, HCPs are actually more time restricted in a virtual world.

“Where physical congresses give doctors ‘protected time’ to interact and learn, their virtual equivalents typically compete with routine daily duties, professional and personal. As a result, HCPs spend less time engaging with educational content than they would do if they attended in person.”

Although a virtual experience may never completely replicate all the benefits of being face to face, it is likely that a hybrid experience will be the new normal, offering compelling, engaging and enduring content that reinforces learning and provides long-term value beyond the event.

Continuing on from our coverage last month marking Rare Disease Day, in this issue we highlight the struggles experienced by patients with rare diseases seeking access to gene and cell therapies.

Our article on page 20 looks at EU cross-border healthcare and emphasises that the clock is ticking to improve patient access to rare disease therapies. The very survival of these patients depends on these therapies, yet they face a flurry of challenges to access the treatments that will hopefully change their lives forever.

With the disease expertise and specialist skills that are required not being widely available in every European country, a functioning cross-border healthcare framework at the EU level is essential. Read more on page 20.

I hope you enjoy this issue!

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