An Outlook for the Feasibility and Format of Future Medical Congresses - Do medical congresses have a future?

Abstract

According to Dallmer and Thedens (1975) congresses can indeed be used as marketing instruments, and do “have the benefit of a direct communication” (1975, p. 447). In the past decades, by lavish entertainments and best practices of pharmaceutical companies, medical congresses unfortunately have been misused for exactly that: pure marketing- and manipulation instruments. By means of the underlying main question "Do medical congresses have a future?" this paper shows (1) whether there is an interest for physicians to attend such congresses, (2) what the best practice of the health care industry is and (3) gives hints on what the positioning of some congresses are.