Healthcare exhibiting has changed dramatically in the past decade, and a productive way to understand and accept that change is open dialogue about the future of healthcare.
Leaders in the healthcare industry aimed to have open communication using an Audience Response System (ARS) during the opening session of the 2013 Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association Annual Meeting, held in Austin, Texas.
“We’re in a new healthcare environment, and we are taking a new approach to our meeting,” said Jackie Beaulieu, executive vice president, HCEA. “We need to be interactive, participate in the changes and the direction of our industry.”
Reality Engineering provided the ARS, and the facilitated session covered audits, sponsorships, educational and promotional opportunities, trends toward scientific exhibits and patient centricity, and the convention participation level of exhibiting companies, including budgets, booth sizes and show schedules.
Taking advantage of user-friendly technology, ARS facilitates greater interaction with participants engaged in a variety of group activities. Each participant has an input device that permits them to express a view in complete anonymity, and the composite view of the total group appears on a public screen.
ARS can then be used to support summative and formative activities with groups ranging in size from as small as five through to large groups of several hundred. The data can be used to help the facilitator adjust the pace of teaching to match the requirements of the learners, gauge understanding or trigger discussion and debate.
The opening session at the Annual Meeting challenged attendees to share insights that give voice to the revolution in healthcare exhibit marketing. Attendees were asked to consider key aspects of the current medical show climate, what changes they see and foresee, and the impact these changes have on exhibitors, associations and suppliers to the industry.
