Live Streaming Makes Continuing Medical Education Events Easier
3 Reasons Why Live Streaming Just Makes Sense for CMEs
With COVID-19 keeping healthcare professionals busier than ever during these last few years, livestream options continue to grow in popularity and necessity.
So where do we go from here? We’re sharing the top 3 reasons to live stream your next Continuing Medical Education (CME) conference.
(1) Easily Feature Nationally-Recognized Speakers from Anywhere
By adding live streaming to your event, not only are there more options for audience attendance, it also provides flexibility in allowing for more speakers and collaboration.
How do we know? Take it from our clients’ experiences.
Case Study: Pacific Northwest Sepsis Conference
From the beginning, the Washington State Hospital Association was forward-thinking; they planned a hybrid event model for their 2022 PNW Sepsis Conference and planned to incorporate remote presenters. During the conference, a few of the in-person speakers had to convert to remote presentations due to illness and/or flight delays. Because of the hybrid model, we were able to adapt and accommodate last-minute changes without disruption to the conference.
Photo courtesy Triple B Foundation
Case Study: University of Washington Division of Dermatology
Earlier this year, we were honored to partner with the University of Washington Division of Dermatology in helping them host their International Symposium on Merkel Cell Carcinoma hybrid event. This event brought together top research leaders, active investigators and faculty from all over the world, while also safely including remote immune-compromised patients, in a large collaboration toward improving the understanding of Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare and aggressive skin cancer.
Our clients’ experiences show the benefit of planning to live stream first. While COVID-19 restrictions have declined across the U.S allowing for more in-person events, it is not without risk. Aside from the health risks of possibly being exposed to and contracting COVID-19 while traveling to the event or during it, there is another surprising risk to consider: flight cancellations.
According to data from FlightAware, there have already been a great deal more cancellations between January and June of this year than the whole of last year – over 121,918 cancellations by the end of June 2022, compared to 121,552 in 2021. Many CME conferences are held in some of the largest and most popular destinations, such as New York and Florida, where flight cancellations are the highest.
(2) Don’t Leave Shifts Behind During Travel
Speakers at these events are some of the best and most knowledgeable people in their respective fields. In order for them to attend an in-person event, they may need to take time off from work and possibly even make travel preparations. Finding someone who can adequately cover their shifts could be extremely difficult, if not impossible, in some cases.
Highly specialized physicians are not the only ones facing these problems. Even nurses may find themselves in a similar situation. The pandemic has caused worldwide labor shortages across many professions, nursing especially. It may prove difficult for them to take time off to attend an event let alone travel to it if it is further away. To combat these challenges, live streaming is a quick and easy option, giving speakers and attendees more freedom with their schedules.
(3) All Educational Styles Can Be Prioritized
It may come as a surprise to some, but remote events can be more than just TEDTalk-style lectures. Whether you or your audience have different audio and/or visualization needs, live streaming can incorporate all educational styles. For instance, with medical procedure demonstrations, you can set up multiple live stream cameras to film full body or close-up shots and capture different viewpoints, all while answering questions from audience viewers in real time.
Additionally, if audience members would benefit from a manual or workbook, items can be mailed to their addresses ahead of the event so that they can take notes and work through material as they are listening. Even emailing PDFs of worksheets prior to the event can be a great tool in audience learning and engagement.
Data trending to CME live streaming
Our clients’ experiences only further illustrate what recent data shows. A study conducted by the Biomedical Alliance in Europe CME Experts Committee, showed that CME (Continuing Medical Education) events throughout medical societies greatly transitioned to online only events, with plans to continue with online only or hybrid events.
88% of leading research and medical societies organized online-only events during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with 41% continuing online only and 35% offering hybrid events in 2021.
Ready to book your next continuing medical education conference for Fall 2022?