Are virtual medical meetings the wave of the future?

It’s now possible to go to a medical meeting without actually going to the meeting.

I was assigned to cover the annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), one of the year’s most important HIV/AIDS meetings, currently underway in San Francisco. But through a series of snafus too boring to mention I was not able to register for the conference.

No problem, said the organizers, more than 90% of the conference will be webcast.

I’ve heard this song before, and usually it means that at some distant future date some low-quality audio may be available for purchase at the rate of $40/session or thereabouts.

But I was pleasantly surprised to learn that CROI is offering much, much more. The webcasts are free, they include high quality audio, video, and PowerPoint slides, and the day’s sessions are all available the same evening. Oh, and the audio files, with slides, are also available for download in mp3 and iTunes format. For free.

Virtual attendance via webcast has both advantages and disadvantages compared to physical attendance in “meatspace.”

Advantages

• No need to pay for travel, hotel, or even meeting registration.
• Smaller environmental impact.
• Can attend all sessions, even ones occurring simultaneously.
• Can clearly hear and see the speaker, the slides, and participants in the Q&A session.
• Can pause and rewind audio, study PowerPoint slides closely, and actually read those slides that speakers introduce by saying, “Now this slide is a little busy, but . . .”
• Can attend in pajamas.

Disadvantages

• No schmoozing, no networking, no catching up with old friends and colleagues.
• Requires a fairly fast Internet connection for non-jerky video. Even with a fast connection (in CROI’s implementation, at least) streaming tended to stop halfway through a 2-hour session, and the only way to resume was to exit and reload.
• Not possible to get a sense of how interested–or uninterested–the audience was in a particular talk.
• I’m a big fan of poster sessions, but the CROI did not make the posters available on its webcast.
• No way to earn CME credit for watching the webcasts, in this implementation at least.
• No opportunity to spend time in San Francisco, one of the most exciting and beautiful cities on Earth.

I’m interested in hearing from physicians who have attended a conference via webcast. What did you think about the experience? I’d also like to hear from physicians who think this is the worst idea since bloodletting went out of fashion. Please vote in the poll and leave comments!

— Bob Finn (on Twitter @bobfinn)

Press Briefing as Theatre

From a press briefing to announce the “Act Against Aids” campaign in Washington, DC

courtesy of flickr user t a k k

Today, I attended my first “White House Press Briefing.” Not at the White House, but next door, in the Old Executive Office Building, which is one of my favorite buildings in DC from an architectural standpoint. The interior is stunning as well, with a beautiful curved staircase (probably more than one), tall doors with ornate handles, carved columns, and elegant wooden cabinets.

But step into the briefing room on the 4th floor, and you’re in a theatre. There’s a stage, complete with curtained backdrop. The velvety blue seats have rockers, and they are arranged in a “stadium seating” style, so it’s a comfortable place to sit for an hour.

I wondered whether the comfy chairs were an attempt to make the audience (in this case, press and dignitaries) more receptive to whatever message was being presented there?  Most people are in a better mood when they are comfortable, although I don’t think I let the fact that I have sat on the floor in some meetings have a negative impact on the story.

(Full disclosure: I generally do have warm feelings about meetings at which they have good cookies at the coffee breaks, but these are not associated with specific presentations).

In this case, the story was the announcement of a new AIDS education campaign, “Act Against AIDS,” a 5-year campaign to remind Americans that HIV/AIDS remains a real problem in the U.S. — according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one American becomes infected with HIV every 9 1/2 minutes, hence the “9 1/2 minutes” theme of the campaign. Americans have become complacent about HIV, so they don’t worry as much as they should about  risky sex, said Dr. Kevin Fenton of the CDC.

Another thing made this press briefing theatrical (it wasn’t risky sex, sorry.)  There were rows of cameras behind the seats, filming the speakers, but there was one cameraman on stage filming  the audience. The briefing was being Webcast, and I’m guessing that they wanted some “b-roll” footage to break up an hour of podium shots, but it was kind of a weird feeling to see the camera turned on me as I sat taking notes.

courtesy of flickr user blogefl

But turn about is fair play, I suppose. I’m using my notes from my attendance at the briefing to write a story, and perhaps the government organizations sponsoring the campaign will use images of the diligent press to bolster their publicity efforts.  That’s just the first time I’ve seen the press being so obviously captured on film.

–Heidi Splete