Radisson Hotel Group outlines a new approach to healthcare meeting design - Get updated on what's happening in tourism!

Radisson Hotel Group has published a new industry report examining how healthcare meetings are evolving from operational events into strategically designed platforms that support scientific exchange, decision-making and improved healthcare outcomes. The findings are based on discussions at the company's Knowledge Exchange: Healthcare Planning, Design and Strategy Summit, where 75 experts from the pharmaceutical, healthcare agency and venue production sectors met in Florence to explore the future of healthcare meetings.

From event management to strategic design

Rather than focusing on traditional conference presentations, the two-day summit centred on collaborative workshops and practical working sessions designed to develop repeatable frameworks for the industry.

The report concludes that healthcare meetings are increasingly being viewed as strategic communication systems requiring structured planning, measurable methodologies and continuous improvement instead of standalone events.

"Healthcare meetings are no longer simply logistical exercises—they are strategic communication platforms that can drive measurable educational, scientific, and organizational outcomes," said Muriel Poulenc, Senior Director, Sales Strategy at Radisson Hotel Group. "Across the industry, we are seeing growing recognition that better outcomes require more than flawless execution. They require structured design, integrated workflows, and a more deliberate approach to how meetings are planned, delivered, and measured. The organizations embracing this shift will be best positioned to create meaningful impact."

Meeting planners take on a strategic role

According to the report, the role of healthcare meeting planners is changing significantly. Beyond coordinating logistics, planners are increasingly expected to align stakeholders, structure decision-making processes and support organisations throughout the planning lifecycle.

Participants concluded that many delays, inefficiencies and costly revisions are caused less by execution problems than by fragmented decision-making and insufficient strategic alignment during the early planning stages.

Better systems before better technology

While artificial intelligence remains a major topic across the industry, the report argues that technology alone will not solve the challenges facing healthcare meetings.

Instead, participants identified fragmented workflows, disconnected planning processes and inconsistent governance structures as the industry's main obstacles. In many organisations, between 40 and 60 percent of planning activities are still devoted to non-value-creating tasks.

To improve efficiency, Radisson Hotel Group recommends adopting structured methodologies such as Lean Six Sigma, Agile and Sprint thinking to redesign meeting planning around streamlined workflows and measurable performance.

Measuring value and long-term impact

One of the report's central concepts is the Meeting Flow Efficiency Ratio (MFER), a framework designed to evaluate how much planning effort generates value compared with reactive work. The model aims to help organisations optimise workflows, reduce friction and improve collaboration across teams.

The report also highlights the importance of continuous engagement beyond individual events. According to the findings presented at the summit, 66 percent of healthcare professionals change their clinical practice or prescribing behaviour after attending industry-sponsored symposia, underlining the significant influence that well-designed meetings can have on professional decision-making and patient care.

An industry preparing for the next stage

Senior executives from Inizio Engage XD, MCI, Emota and Open Audience joined a panel discussion that reinforced the report's conclusions. Drawing on industry data collected between 2018 and 2026, the speakers agreed that the sector's greatest challenge is not a lack of investment or participation, but the slow evolution of established meeting formats.

The report concludes that organisations combining structured methodologies, intelligent orchestration and strategic meeting design will be best positioned to create more impactful, measurable and scalable healthcare engagement in the years ahead.

Image Credit: © Radisson Hotel Group