New analysis of post-pandemic trends in medical congress engagement has identified potential to increase the digital accessibility of congress content for healthcare professionals, and assess meaningful CME impact.

The findings are compiled in a research poster which was presented by its lead author Ben Gallarda, EPG Health’s Director of Scientific Strategy, at the 17^th Annual European CME Forum in Madrid on 7 November 2024. Watch him introduce it below.

The poster charts reported in-person and virtual attendance figures for several European medical congresses, before, during and since the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the trend shows 9.3% growth in attendance between 2018 and 2024.

Following a large spike in virtual participation in 2020, when some medical societies cancelled on-site events and made online attendance free, a hybrid model has emerged with in-person turnouts rebounding strongly since 2022, and virtual numbers reducing.

These data were compared with analysis of traffic to congress-related content hosted on Medthority, the independent medical education website published by EPG Health. The comparison revealed a discrepancy; despite falling virtual congress attendance, demand for third-party digital coverage continued to increase significantly through 2023, followed by a smaller increase in 2024.

Standard CME measurements applied to this content showed increased knowledge and intent to change practice, demonstrating the potential educational value of greater access to congress output.

The poster concludes that medical societies, CME providers and other stakeholders should consider collaboration to provide the widest possible access to congress information and measure the impact.

Access the full poster, Post-COVID-19 pandemic trends in medical congress engagement and CME implications.

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