PharmaComms Conference 2023

by Momina Hanan, Consultant at MadlinHanna Consulting

Attending my first PharmaComms Conference this year seemed to be a good choice. 2022 was one of the most dynamic years we had seen in terms of movement of talent and the demand for those in healthcare PR didn’t seem to ever falter. 2023 has brought its own air of energy and it was lovely to both hear and see the buzz of a crowd after the last few years we have had. The agenda really carried you through the minds of story tellers and one message that stuck with me was the importance of emotion and keeping humanity within comms. “Feel -> Think -> Do” was the message that Clara Bentham left us all with, and it’s something that I personally have been more focused on when chatting to candidates across the board but specifically within healthcare.  

For someone who has only joined the queue to interact with ChatGPT, and avoids crypto like the plague, Lucie Harper and Brandon Pletsch’s session on Generative AI and storytelling made my ears prick up. The benefits of AI within healthcare are clear to most; early detection, quick diagnosis and the most effective treatments being prescribed much faster when compared to that under a human hand. IBM’s Watson for Health and Google’s DeepMind Health are both unlocking heath data and working in partnerships with clinicians to solve real-world healthcare problems. AI and comms on the other hand will prove to have a different journey. Patient engagement will benefit hugely from this advance, e.g.: the use of chat bots, but the PR industry will have a job on their hands to remove the fear factor surrounding AI.  

Tim Bennet wrapped up the day by talking about what the next five years of pharma will look like. I would argue that it would look like whatever the people I shared that room with want it to look like, so with such huge pressure, what needs to be the focus points? Karen Taylor of Deloitte summed it up in 5 points: Health equity, Workforce, Sustainability, Digital Transformation and Virtual Health Delivery. It couldn’t have been stressed more that the focus must be shifted to the above points – if not, then not only will the firms be left behind, but their important messages won’t reach the audiences that it needs to.  

MadlinHanna Consulting is a recruitment consultancy specialising in corporate affairs, covering public affairs, corporate communications and financial PR. Contact us on 020 8088 4102 for more information or a confidential conversation about these services and more.