How to Organise a Successful Medical Conference — A Simple Guide

There are many issues in the medical industry you can’t solve by yourself. That’s why it’s so important to exchange information and research with other professionals in the field via medical conferences. Through extensive discussions and presentations, you can get closer to solving various health concerns and improving the state of the industry as a whole.

These conferences should be organized with efficiency in mind, so it’s worth investing in an event planning software like Superevent. We allow you to build your own event app, where you can host Q&As, view conference agendas, receive guest feedback, and more.

Want to learn more? Read on.

What Is a Medical Conference?

A medical conference is a meeting between various medical professionals, including researchers, HCPs (healthcare professionals), and students. 

They allow medical experts to discuss health-related topics and concerns with their fellow peers. Activities include presenting data or clinical research, panel discussions, one-on-one interviews, and more.

Depending on your guests’ availability, medical conferences can be virtual, in-person, or hybrid events.

Examples of Medical Conferences

There are tons of examples of medical conferences out there—here are a few notable ones:

1. IHI Patient Safety Congress
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2. ACR Annual Meeting 2023

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3. Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 23

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Why is Organizing a Medical Conference Important?

Foster Expert Opinions

Medical conferences allow attendees to provide or receive expert opinions on various topics through panel discussions and interviews. Guests can easily participate in Q&As on your mobile event app and exchange valuable information in real time. These discussions could lead to actual improvements in healthcare facilities.

Networking Opportunities

Medical conferences are full of professionals, so there are lots of networking opportunities available at these events. As your guests exchange opinions and research with each other, they can end up forming valuable connections in the medical field.

Provide Clear Direction

Medical conferences often have a line of speakers ready to present their thoughts on a topic, which allows guests to learn the latest medical information. Gaining new information can help medical professionals get a better idea of how to proceed with healthcare practices, office procedures, insurance guidelines, and so on.

Make sure a speaker is the right fit for your event before hiring them to ensure guests receive high-quality presentations.

How to Organize a Successful Medical Conference

1. Determine the Purpose and Goals of the Conference

Healthcare event planning starts with identifying your goals. What do you want to achieve with your conference? Why are you holding this conference? Determining your goals will help you decide who to invite and what to put on your event timeline. As a starting point, decide what the topic of your conference will be.

Here are some example topics:

• Behavioral health
• Patient safety
• Pharmacology education
• Latest advances
• Medical ethics
• Chronic pain management

Afterward, you should determine your target audience so you know who to invite or how to promote the event later on.

2. Identify the Location and Venue

Decide where you’re going to host the medical conference. This could be a physical venue or an online streaming site (for virtual events). If you’re booking a venue, make sure it’s big enough to accommodate all your guests. Consider accessibility, parking, and accommodations.

3. Select the Right Conference Technology

Choose an event planning software such as Superevent to aid you in your conference management. With the help of Superevent, you can build a web or mobile application for any professional event. Guests can easily access event timelines, view session alerts, and participate in Q&As and chats.

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We support all kinds of events, including in-person, virtual, and hybrid conferences. Manage all your attendee communication from one centralized dashboard to lessen the burden on your team.

Even without any technical knowledge, you can customize your event app with ease. Optimize your guest engagement with our interactive features for free, or book a demo to test out our tools.

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4. Set a Date and Create a Timeline

Now it’s time to set a date for your conference and organize a general timeline. Choose the start date and end date, and decide what time the conference should begin. Make sure the dates you pick don’t overlap with any national events or other conferences.

5. Shortlist Speakers and Topics

With all the basic details settled, you’re left with the actual conference agenda. Which specific topics are going to be discussed and which medical experts will be speaking at your event? Keep the topics relevant to your conference theme and target audience.

Create a list of potential speakers based on their professional background and area of expertise. For example, if one of your topics is addiction disorders, hire someone who’s an expert on the topic. They could be a specialist on addiction disorders or research the topic itself.

Select your speakers around 6 months before the event to give yourself plenty of time to sort out the logistics.

When determining whether a speaker is right for your event, ask yourself these questions:

• Does the speaker help you achieve your conference goals?
• Can the speaker relate to your target audience?
• Can you afford to hire a speaker?
• Is the speaker available for your event?
• What is your purpose for hiring a speaker? Can the speaker achieve this goal?

6. Develop a Marketing and Promotional Strategy

Once you’ve finished planning your event, you must advertise it to your target audience through your website and social media. Make sure to include important information about the conference to attract the right people:

• Images of the venue
• Information about the speakers
• The theme of the event
• The reason for organizing the event (why guests should attend the event)
• The location and date
• The organization’s contact information
• A link to the registration form (include an option for abstract submission)
• Payment options
• Nearby places of interest (if applicable)

You can also send out event brochures to potential guests and funding agencies. It’s essential to market the conference both online and offline to increase your number of attendees.

7. Create a Timeline

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Create a detailed timeline of all the activities in your event, so guests can easily see what’s next on the agenda. It also helps the event staff stay on schedule. With a mobile event app, you can keep event attendees notified about upcoming events and make them aware of any schedule changes.

8. Evaluate and Follow-up

Finally, after the conference has ended, gather event feedback from your guests to see how successful you were in your goals. Analyze the feedback to determine what went well and what needs improving for next time. You should also follow up with your guests to formulate strong connections and encourage them to attend your future events.

Conclusion

Medical conferences are great for convening with other experts in the field, but organizing such an event takes a lot of work. That’s why event software such as Superevent provides you with an easy way to build your own intuitive event app.

Create an event app for free today or book a demo to see how we can optimize your event management.