The future of congresses for health professionals: changing perspectives

Abstract

The 19 months of the COVID 19 roller coaster ride is far from over. It’s disruptive force has brought many challenges to health care practitioners, hospital and health policy makers.
In terms of medical education the move has been to conduct more and more offerings on the ever evolving online platforms such as ZOOM and Microsoft Teams and GOTOMEETING.
These offerings come from individuals, hospitals, higher education institutions, national and international societies, and the medical industry, alone or in combination. In contrast the
traditional medical congress, often a main revenue stream; held at a convention centre, has almost come to a standstill. This has had major ramifications not just for the parties mentioned but for Professional Conference Organisers and Convention Centre Managers. These players have been forced to make short and intermediate term plans on how to deal with the situation with the ever present uncertainties of COVID 19.