Medical congresses are a major investment for pharmaceutical companies. Teams need to know that the time, budget and resources they commit are helping them reach the right healthcare professionals, support better scientific exchange and understand how the market is responding.

HCP digital insights can help.

By analysing the organic online conversations of healthcare professionals, pharma teams can better understand what HCPs care about, how they react to new data, what questions are emerging and where competitor activity is gaining attention.

These insights can support congress planning before the event, help teams respond during the congress, and provide a clearer view of impact afterwards.

Here are 8 ways to maximise congress investment by using HCP digital insights.

Pre-congress

1. Identify Digital Opinion Leaders to partner and collaborate with

Digital Opinion Leaders are healthcare professionals who shape online discussion around topics that matter to your therapy area.

They are not simply “KOLs with social media accounts”. DOLs are HCPs who are active, trusted and relevant within the digital conversation.

Identifying the right DOLs before congress can help teams understand which voices are already shaping the discussion, where collaboration may be valuable, and who may help extend scientific conversation beyond the congress floor.

This does not only apply to HCPs attending the event in person. Some of the most relevant digital voices may be engaging with the congress remotely or discussing the data online with their peers.

2. Discover what HCPs want to know

Congress messaging is strongest when it reflects what HCPs are already discussing.

By understanding the topics, questions, concerns and areas of interest appearing in online HCP conversation before congress, teams can prepare more relevant messaging and content.

This can help answer questions such as:

• What clinical topics are gaining attention?
• Which data or trials are HCPs already discussing?
• What uncertainty or debate is emerging?
• What do HCPs appear to need more clarity on?

The aim is not just to communicate what your team wants to say, but to understand what HCPs are already trying to make sense of.

If you are starting to plan your congress activity, and would like to access continuous, structured insight from healthcare professional conversations across your therapy area, visit hcphorizon.com.

During the congress

3. See how HCPs react to your data

During congress, HCPs may begin responding to new data almost immediately.

Tracking online HCP conversation can help teams understand how their data is being received, what points are gaining attention, and whether any questions or concerns are emerging.

This can support teams on the ground by helping them prepare for more relevant face-to-face conversations, stand discussions and follow-up activity.

It can also help medical and commercial teams understand whether the conversation is developing in the way they expected.

4. Know what live issues are emerging

Congress conversations can move quickly. A trial result, presentation, poster, symposium, competitor announcement or comment from an influential HCP can trigger new discussion. By monitoring HCP conversation during congress, teams can identify live issues as they emerge and prepare appropriate discussion points for future communications.

This can be especially valuable when teams need to understand:

• New areas of uncertainty.
• Unexpected reactions to data.
• Recurring questions from HCPs.
• Topics gaining momentum.
• Areas where further education may be needed.

5. Discover how HCPs react to competitor data

Your congress impact is not shaped only by your own activity.

Competitor data, comparator discussions and wider therapy-area developments can also shape how HCPs interpret your position in the market.

Understanding what HCPs are saying about competitor data can help teams prepare better congress conversations and more useful follow-up. It can also help teams identify where competitor activity is gaining attention, what claims or themes HCPs are discussing, and where your own messaging may need to respond more clearly.

Post-congress

6. Learn how HCPs reacted to your data overall

It is important not to look only at conversation during the congress itself.

Many HCP discussions continue after the event, as people reflect on the data, share summaries, compare perspectives, and discuss what the findings may mean in practice.

Aggregating conversation during and after congress can give teams a clearer view of overall HCP reaction. This can be especially valuable if your drug is yet to launch, as it can help indicate how HCPs are interpreting the data and where further education or engagement may be needed.

7. Identify who is advocating your data

After congress, teams can look at which HCPs are active, vocal and positive about the data.

This can help identify potential advocates, collaborators or future Digital Opinion Leaders who are helping the data travel through relevant HCP communities.

It is also useful to understand what is driving their behaviour. Are they responding to clinical relevance? Patient impact? Strength of evidence? Practical application? Comparison to existing treatment options?

Understanding why HCPs are engaging with the data can help shape future scientific exchange and engagement planning.

8. See what questions are left unanswered

Congress does not end when the event closes. HCPs often continue to discuss, interpret and question data after the event. This post-congress conversation can reveal important gaps.

Teams can use HCP digital insights to understand:

• What information did not land clearly.
• Which questions remain unanswered.
• What misunderstandings may need to be addressed.
• Where HCPs want more evidence.
• What future content or education should focus on.

It is also important to consider what information you wanted to get across to HCPs, and whether it appears to have reached them.

Post-congress insight can help teams improve future messaging, content planning, educational activity and research priorities.

A clearer view of congress impact

Medical congresses are often supported by significant budget, time and resource. HCP digital insights can help teams make that investment work harder by showing what HCPs are discussing before, during and after the event.

They can help teams identify the right voices, understand live reaction, track competitor discussion and see what questions remain unanswered.

Most importantly, they help teams move beyond internal assumptions and gain a clearer view of the wider HCP conversation.

HCP Horizon helps teams explore this kind of conversation in a structured way – across products, trials, companies, congresses and clinical themes. Teams can identify spikes in attention, zoom into congress windows, compare perspectives across markets or specialties, and understand how HCP thinking is changing over time.

Join our upcoming webinar to see how HCP Horizon and DOL Finder can help teams understand what HCPs think – and who is shaping the conversation.

FAQs:

How can HCP digital insights support medical congress planning?

HCP digital insights can help teams understand what healthcare professionals are discussing before congress, how they react to data during the event, and what questions remain afterwards. This can support messaging, scientific exchange, content planning and follow-up.

What should pharma teams track during a medical congress?

Pharma teams can track HCP reaction to new data, competitor discussion, emerging questions, influential voices, live issues and topics gaining momentum.

How can HCP social listening improve congress follow-up?

HCP social listening can show what HCPs continue to discuss after congress, what questions remain unanswered, and where future education or communication may be needed.