At the Alliance for CME annual conference, attendees usually debate the latest ethical and regulatory controversies in the continuing medical education field. This year’s conference, held January 30 to February 2 in Orlando, was no exception—however, speakers also focused on meeting planning logistics—for the first time in this writer’s memory. During the various discussions about the impact of 9/11, one overriding theme emerged: Medical meeting planners are not backing down, and the prognosis for health care meetings is excellent.
During a "Hot Topics in CME" session, attendees were polled via an audience response system about the effect of 9/11 on their upcoming CME plans:
93 percent of respondents said they were not planning to replace scheduled live meetings with electronic activities.
79 percent said they would continue to hold the same number of live meetings as they did before 9/11. In fact, 10 percent said they were increasing the number of live meetings. On the other hand, 10 percent were decreasing that number.
75 percent said they are planning the same number of activities using alternative delivery formats (such as Web-based CME) as they were before 9/11. Twenty-one percent said they would increase their use of alternate formats.
The long-term effect of 9/11 is yet to be determined, with many respondents still undecided about future plans. Asked which alternative formats they would use more frequently in the future, 25 percent said Web-based CME; while a whopping 53 percent were as yet undecided.
Many experts have predicted that associations will hold more regional or local meetings—attendees did support that view. Forty-eight percent said they would offer more regional or local meetings. However, 9 percent said they would offer more national meetings. But, again, the full impact is yet to be seen: 42 percent were undecided.
A more detailed report on the Alliance for CME annual conference will appear in the March/April issue of Medical Meetings.
