Industry Insights MedComms: 20/06/25
This round of insights in medical communications focusses on the key themes from the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP) Annual Meeting, held in Washington, DC on 12–14 May.
Day 1: Diversity and innovation on centre stage
The first day of the 21st Annual Meeting of the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP) brought forward the importance of the co-existence of diversity and innovation in publications.
In her keynote, Dr Verena Voelter highlighted the importance of collaboration across the so-called Five P’s: patients, providers, pharma, payers and policymakers. Dr Voelter also added unmet health needs rather than hype should fuel the application of #AI (artificial intelligence) in healthcare. Another presentation from Laura Watts (Lumanity) introduced a framework to promote equity in publication.
The sessions also explored the responsible use of AI in publication. Speakers underlined the importance of transparency, adherence to laws and authorship accountability when using AI.
Day 2: Striving for equal and accessible communication
Day 2 of the ISMPP meeting opened with a keynote from Dr Lisa Fitzpatrick, Founder and CEO of Grapevine Health. Dr Fitzpatrick challenged participants to reconsider how healthcare professionals and communicators engage with communities. She encouraged medical communicators to simplify their language and develop culturally competent communication strategies. According to Dr Fitzpatrick, health communicators must think more like the people they’re trying to reach and less like academics.
The data presented reinforced the message that improving health literacy is ethically responsible and leads to better outcomes and lower costs.
Digital communication was another hot topic. Medical communicators were encouraged to explore how digital tools could connect more meaningfully with patients, including those in marginalised communities.
Day 3: The rise of digital therapeutics
Day 3 of the conference explored how the principles of diversity and innovation, highlighted on Days 1 and 2, apply to the digital therapeutic landscape. A key session focused on communication strategies for digital therapeutics (DTx), including software-based interventions designed to prevent, manage or treat disease.
Speakers emphasised that digital therapeutics are not just an extension of pharma. They require a distinct communication strategy with regulators, payers and technologists.
According to speakers, effective communication for digital therapeutics should take into account real-world data as well as patient-reported outcomes. The session underscored the importance of planning early and aligning content with audience-specific needs.
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