💰 What is a Health Economist, What Do They Do, Can They Be Trusted, and Are They the Power Behind the Throne of Drug/Device Development? 

Dr Clive Pritchard

Principal Health Economist, ICON PLC

Watch on-demand here

To view the speakers presentations, please click here:

​

In this insightful and thought-provoking talk, Dr Clive Pritchard explored the increasingly central role of health economists in the development, pricing, and approval of drugs and medical devices. He argued that, far from being peripheral, health economics now sits at the heart of decision-making in healthcare — and that medical writers and strategists must become fluent in its core concepts.

 

🧠 Topics covered include:

• What health economics really is — the study of how limited healthcare resources are allocated

• Core tools: Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA), Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), and Cost-Utility Analysis (CUA), particularly those involving QALYs (Quality-Adjusted Life Years)

• A deep dive into the Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER), and why NICE uses a threshold of £20,000 per QALY gained

• The limitations and ethical assumptions of QALY-based decision-making

• How decision-analytic models, including the Partitioned Survival Model, are used to estimate long-term outcomes — often with incomplete data

• Why interpreting these models requires balancing scientific rigour with practical storytelling

​

Dr Pritchard made it clear: health economists are influencing everything from R&D strategy to reimbursement decisions, and that means medical communicators must engage more critically with economic data and models.

​

“Balancing complexity and simplicity in these models is both science and art.” – Dr Clive Pritchard

​

🔗 Click here to read the full summary →

​​​​​​​

​​

🎨 Graphic Medicine and Its Application: Patient Perspectives
Tony Pickering
Medical Artist

Watch on-demand here

To view the speakers presentations, please click here:

​​

In a deeply personal and visually rich presentation, Tony Pickering introduced the growing field of Graphic Medicine (GM) — a unique intersection of comics and healthcare communication. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 40, Pickering turned to illustration to process his experience, ultimately discovering a powerful medium for storytelling, education, and advocacy.

​

🎨 What is Graphic Medicine?
Coined by Dr Ian Williams in 2007, GM is an interdisciplinary approach using comics to explore the lived experience of illness. Once primarily academic, it now includes patients, caregivers, and clinicians, and is gaining traction for its ability to present complex, emotional content in accessible, reflective ways.

​

📚 Key Highlights from the Talk:

• Tony’s graphic novel Diabetes: Year One depicts major emotional and physical milestones from his diagnosis — such as recognising symptoms, receiving the diagnosis, and coping with hyperglycaemia.

• GM provides a slower, more reflective format than clinical leaflets or pamphlets — allowing patients to absorb and revisit health information in their own time.

• Visual metaphors (e.g., hyperglycaemia as a “freight train”) help articulate experiences that are difficult to express through traditional clinical communication.

​

🔍 Other Featured Projects:

• Abandoning Daydreams of a Life Without Diabetes by Daisy W. Shaw (Welcome Collection) — exploring stigma, bodily autonomy, and life-long adjustments

• LAIB case study — using visual storytelling to support heroin recovery programmes

• Under doctoring (Lancaster University) — visualising medical training pathways

• The Life & Soul — a public health initiative tackling male suicide through comics

​

Graphic Medicine challenges the detachment of conventional medical narratives — replacing it with empathy, insight, and emotional clarity.

​

🧩 This presentation offered a compelling case for why visual storytelling belongs in patient education and healthcare communication — not just as an art form, but as a tool for better understanding, connection, and care.

​

🔗 Click here to read the full summary →

​​​​​​

​

💊 Drug Safety and Its Role in Public Health – Pharmacovigilance (PV): Important, Interesting, and Not Too Scary?

Dr Suzanne Foncin

Scientific Director, Safety Evaluation and Risk Management, GSK

Watch on-demand here

To view the speakers presentations, please click here:

 

In this illuminating and accessible talk, Dr Suzanne Foncin unpacked the vital role of Pharmacovigilance (PV) — also known as drug safety — in protecting patients and ensuring long-term public trust in medicines.

​

🧪 What is Pharmacovigilance?
Defined by the World Health Organisation, PV is:

“The science and activities relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects or any other drug-related problem.”

​

Dr Foncin described PV as a lifelong safety net for medicines — operating well beyond clinical trials and into the real-world use of drugs by large and diverse populations.

​

🔍 Key Concepts Discussed:

• Adverse Events (AEs) vs Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) — understanding causality and collecting global safety data through systems like the Yellow Card and FAERS

• Signal detection — identifying early warning signs of new or under-reported risks and taking timely regulatory action

• Risk Management Plans (RMPs) — strategic frameworks to minimise harm, supported by Risk Minimisation Measures (RMMs) such as patient guides or educational leaflets

• A strong focus on the benefit–risk balance — ensuring a medicine remains safe and effective over time

 

Dr Foncin powerfully illustrated PV in action with the example of thalidomide — a drug withdrawn for its teratogenic effects but reintroduced under strict conditions for treating multiple myeloma.

​

💼 Pharmacovigilance as a Career Path:

For those in medical communications, PV offers a dynamic and impactful career. Roles include:

• Drug safety specialist

• Signal detection analyst

• Medical reviewer

• Scientific writer — responsible for key safety documents like PSURs and RMPs

​

These roles demand clarity, accuracy, regulatory insight, and a commitment to patient wellbeing.

​

“Every day I wake up with purpose – I know my work makes a huge difference.” – Dr Suzanne Foncin

​

PV is not only a scientific discipline — it is an ethical commitment to patient safety, offering meaning, complexity, and global impact.

 

🔗 Click here to read the full summary →

​​​​​​​​​​​​​

🔮 Trends in the Medical Communications Industry – and How to Respond?
Dr Dawn Lobban
Co-founder and Managing Partner, Amica Scientific

Watch on-demand here

To view the speakers presentations, please click here:

​

In this dynamic and future-focused session, Dr Dawn Lobban identified three major trends reshaping the medical communications industry — and offered practical advice for professionals and organisations aiming to stay ahead of the curve.

​

With deep industry experience, she explored how Artificial Intelligence (AI), patient engagement, and an evolving skillset are redefining what it means to be a successful Medcomms professional in 2025 and beyond.

​

🤖 1. The Rise of AI in Medical Communications
AI is already being used for:

• Literature reviews

• Meeting summaries

• Plain language summaries

• Early-phase content generation

• Strategic planning and chatbots

​

But AI also brings challenges — including data privacy risks, hallucinations, and an emphasis on volume over quality.

Dr Lobban emphasised the need for human oversight, critical thinking, and ethical content development.

​

“The human-in-the-loop remains essential.”

​

She shared an ISMPP example where AI was used to co-develop a patient lexicon for rare diseases, showcasing AI’s potential when paired with expert input.

​

💬 2. The Rise of Patient Engagement
Patient engagement is no longer optional — it's a regulatory and strategic priority.

Dr Lobban highlighted:

• Support from agencies like FDA and EMA

• The need to involve trained patient contributors with lived and community experience

• The importance of documenting and publishing the impact of patient involvement

• Giving authorship and affiliation to patients in scientific publications

​

She encouraged teams to seek out meaningful partnerships — not token involvement.

​

🧠 3. The Evolving Role of MedComms Professionals
Today’s Medcomms professionals need more than just scientific accuracy.

​

In-demand skills now include:

• Cultural competence

• Emotional intelligence

• Storytelling

• Health literacy training

• Inclusive communication

​

Ideal candidates bring a blend of science, empathy, AI fluency, and a commitment to diversity — especially when engaging with non-HCP audiences like patients.

​​​

🔗 Click here to read the full summary →

​​​​​

🗣️ Panel Discussion: Reflections and Realities in Medical Communications
Led by Eleanor Steele
Watch on-demand here

​

In this engaging and wide-ranging closing session, Eleanor Steele moderated a live panel discussion with speakers and audience members — bringing together insights from the day and grounding them in the real-world challenges and opportunities of working in medical communications.

​

💬 Key Themes Explored:

• Career Journeys – From traditional pathways to unconventional pivots, panellists shared how they entered and evolved within the field, offering honest reflections on what drew them in — and what keeps them going.

• AI and the Human Touch – Echoing earlier sessions, the panel explored how AI tools are reshaping roles and workflows, while reinforcing the ongoing need for human judgement, creativity, and ethical oversight.

• Patient-Centred Communication – Building on the day’s themes of empathy and engagement, there was strong agreement that patient perspectives must be integrated more meaningfully into both strategy and content.

• The Future of MedComms – Panellists offered thoughts on where the field is heading: interdisciplinary teams, greater transparency, and the need for flexible, values-driven professionals who can adapt and lead.

​

With Eleanor’s thoughtful questions and a lively audience Q&A, the session offered a fitting close — combining insight, inspiration, and a renewed sense of purpose.

​​​​​