Medical communication plays a crucial role in ensuring that healthcare professionals, patients, and stakeholders stay well-informed. This is the key responsibility of a medical education manager, but it can be difficult to facilitate these complicated but important medical discussions and updates. The act of medical communication comes in many different forms - from advisory boards to the creation of articles for publications - but the end goal always remains the same: to educate the medical community. Here are three key medical communications services and how they can elevate your work as a medical education manager.
1. Patient Education
Patient education is a vital component of healthcare, and in turn medical communications. As a medical education manager, becoming involved in patient education means learning new ways to empower healthcare professionals (HCPs) so they can educate patients is key. Developing resources for your HCPs that provide them with the language and tools to share information about health conditions and novel treatment medicines or technologies will elevate your work and foster goodwill with the HCPs you work with.
Popular examples include brochures, tutorials and animated storytelling videos - but we also recommend getting innovative with your patient education. You can try developing take-home items, like a magnet, that displays pertinent healthcare information or instructions. Or, try meeting patients in a new avenue such as social media, by developing and posting short-and-sweet educational videos. By investing in patient education, you’ll show your HCPs that your commitment to community health and well-being is central to your organization's mission.
2. Medical Symposia
Engaging in and leading presentations at symposiums is a surefire way to improve your work as a medical education manager. Not only does it grant access to the latest and greatest knowledge in the field, it also provides a platform for networking and sharing best practices. By attending symposia, healthcare professionals can stay updated on trends and research, ultimately improving patient care - and as a medical education manager, you’ll be given access to highly relevant and qualified HCPs who may be interested in learning about your product or service.
By developing a medical education presentation or hosting your own symposia, you’ll demonstrate that your organization is a thought leader in your given field. It’ll prompt attendees to look to your organization for news, guidance and best practices, exponentially growing your audience and the number of eyeballs on your brand, product or service.
3. Post-Congress Updates
A highly important component of medical communication that’s often overlooked is post-congress updates. Many medical education managers will attend or even present at a medical symposia, congress or conference - but once they leave, the connection with the audience ceases. That’s why it’s important to quickly develop materials and resources that re-engage your audience and remind them why they attended your presentation or conference.
There’s many different ways a post-congress update can be delivered - oftentimes, it looks like a one-pager about the presentation or a simple re-circulation of the slides. We recommend harnessing your creativity and re-engaging your audience in new ways. This might look like a post-presentation survey or quiz, or even leveraging holographic technology. By developing an engaging post-congress update, you not only will reconnect with your audience but you can also reach new audiences, since attendees love to share information and great resources with their network!
Whether it's through patient education materials, medical symposia, post-congress updates or another service, medical communications helps bridge the gap between the medical community and the latest advancements in healthcare. By leveraging these services, you’ll improve your work by better equipping HCPs with the tools they need to provide high-quality care.
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