Healthcare: On the Agenda - Three key issues top HCA debates

The Healthcare Communications Association marked its ten-year anniversary with its second annual conference last week, attended by a number of key figures from the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry. The Staying One Step Ahead conference, held at Central Hall, Westminster, aimed to address some of the major changes happening in the industry and the implications for healthcare comms.

Who was there?

The HCA was set up in 2001 by a handful of industry professionals focused on championing best practice, innovation and excellence in healthcare comms. Speakers on the day included Cherry Wood, chair of the HCA, Stephen Whitehead, chief executive of the ABPI, Daniel Matthews, managing partner of UK life sciences practice, Accenture, and David Tovey, editor-in-chief of Cochrane Reviews, as well as The Daily Telegraph's digital media editor Emma Barnett.

On the agenda

The conference included discussions on the top three areas of concern raised by HCA members, namely: trust and transparency; keeping up with environmental challenges; and the evolving face of comms. Delegates also debated the ongoing challenges around digital and social media in healthcare comms.

Live tweets

For the first time, the conference set up a Twitter hashtag (#HCA11), allowing audience members to tweet questions and views in real-time throughout the day-long event. In total, 549 tweets were sent using the hashtag.

£500bn - The value of the global pharma market per year

10 - Number of years the HCA has been in existence.