The third edition of the Congress on Health Communication, which Vall d’Hebron will host on Thursday and Friday 22 and 23 October with the support of the European University Hospital Alliance (EUHA), will bring together experts from around the world for two days to explore the importance of communicating in real time. While on the first day there will be live connections with health situations where the World Health Organization (WHO) is operating on the ground (Congo, Ukraine and Venezuela), on the second day the connections will be with EUHA hospitals (Rotterdam, Milan and Vall d’Hebron). The concept of real time will be a core element of all the congress topics. The first day will therefore begin with a keynote by 3Cat President Rosa Romà, who will explore the challenges of communicating in real time in high-pressure and constantly evolving environments, and will continue with a debate on when health becomes front-page news around the world, featuring senior figures from major media outlets such as Tony Gallagher, editor of ‘The Times’, Rita Ferreira, health editor at Portugal’s ‘Expresso’ newspaper, or Raquel Sans (3Cat).

The second day will feature two highlights. Those responsible for fictional series and documentaries will explain how health stories are represented in audiovisual media: Zoanne Clack, executive producer of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, which holds the Guinness World Record for the most in-demand medical series in the world; David Schulner, creator and showrunner of ‘New Amsterdam’; Victoria Dyring, producer at Swedish public broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT); Timo Gößler, series development producer at German production company UFA Fiction, including the successful Charité; and Fernando Pomares, from the programme ‘Salvados’ (La Sexta), who immersed himself in Vall d’Hebron to portray the country’s transplant system.

On 23 October, another highlight will be the participation of patients. Susan Sheridan, Emeritus Director of Patient Engagement at the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine, Emma Lawton, writer and artist living with Parkinson’s disease; Julia Holleman, scoliosis patient and President of Stichting I Love My Back; Daniel Gallego, President of the European Kidney Patients Federation (EKPF); and Patricia Ripoll, President of Fundación VISIBLE, will explain how they have succeeded in making their causes, conditions and projects known and recognised, and in gaining support through their activity on social media, in the media and in other communication forums.

In addition to the round-table discussions, the congress will feature two practical sessions: one on the strategies and actions currently being undertaken and that can be explored with agentic AI, led by expert Laia Morales, co-founder of Bexperience; and another on how to resolve crisis situations under pressure, with Lilly Korpiola, Executive Director of Recado Oy, an authority on conflict resolution. As has become customary, marketing will also have a role to play at the event: the congress will explore how communicating in real time can help healthcare institutions and organisations connect with their audiences in a more authentic way, with contributions from Prama Nanda, from the Marketing and Communications Department of the European Resuscitation Council, and Will Grundy, Chief Strategy Officer at adam&eve\TBWA. The event will conclude with Fundación Èpica La Fura dels Baus, with a surprise performance centred on a health-related experience.

The third Congress on Health Communication would not be possible without the strategic support of Surgerii Robotics and the collaboration of Takeda, Sobi, Siemens Healthineers, Blanquerna-Universitat Ramon Llull, Barcelona Turisme Convention Bureau and 3Cat.