The challenges of communicating in real time, in dynamic and high-pressure environments, and the role of fictional series and documentaries in shaping the public imagination of hospitals have marked the 3rd International Health Communication Congress. More than 400 people from around the world gathered at Vall d’Hebron on 22 and 23 October, for two days during which communicatively active patients, experts in resolving crisis situations and developing AI agents, as well as those responsible for marketing campaigns with international impact, among others, also took the floor.

“In this third edition of the congress, we faced the challenge of making it different and magical. Healthcare knowledge has advanced exponentially in recent years, and communication professionals like us can do nothing but adapt to this dizzying pace, with the support of new technologies and AI. This congress is proving increasingly more useful than ever, as it creates spaces for debate and reflection, and also allows us to anticipate future scenarios and actions across all communication specialities”, explains Fran Garcia, Director of Communication, Corporate Strategy and Citizen Services at Vall d’Hebron.

Rosa Romà, President of 3Cat, opened the Congress with a keynote in which she shared her vision of the present and future of health communication and its relationship with public media.
Live connections were present from the very beginning. Representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) gave attendees a first-hand experience of how decisions are made under pressure and what is appropriate to communicate when scientific evidence is still evolving. The connections took the audience to the WHO command centre in Geneva (Switzerland), where Aleksandra Kuzmonov and Diya Barnejee analysed the impact of social media and digital strategies during an urgent news situation. Tanya Escamilla, from the WHO, spoke from Bogotá (Colombia) about the challenges of communication in emergency situations, drawing on more than fifteen years of experience. Connections were also made with the Congo to address the Ebola crisis, with Dr Anne Ancia, and with Ukraine, through Dr Jarno Habicht and Dr Tetiana Dolhova. There were also interactions with EUHA hospitals, including live connections to the operating theatres at ERASMUS MC (Rotterdam), the Simulation Lab at Ospedale San Raffaele (Milan), and the operating theatres and Nexus Surgical at Vall d’Hebron.

The debate ‘When Health Becomes Front-Page News Around the World’ brought together editors from major media outlets, including Tony Gallagher, editor of The Times; Rita Ferreira, editor of the Portuguese weekly Expresso; Luten Leinhos, news editor at German public television broadcaster ZDF; and Raquel Sans, editor of 3Cat’s Telenotícies. As the people responsible for deciding what makes it into the news agenda and what is left out, they reflected on how news stories are prioritised. “Health matters because it directly affects people’s lives, but not everything that happens in a hospital, a laboratory or a scientific congress necessarily has news value”, Tony Gallagher reflected. Raquel Sans stated: “Explaining what a breakthrough really means, how many patients it may benefit and what its limitations are is essential to ensure that expectations do not move faster than science”.

Reality and fiction went hand in hand at the Congress. Those responsible for fictional series and documentaries reflected on how their audiovisual formats shape the public imagination of medicine and hospitals, from the narrative techniques they use to the advice they receive from medical professionals to ensure that settings and storylines are authentic. The line-up for the debate was exceptional: Zoanne Clack, executive producer of Grey’s Anatomy; 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 for the successful series Charité; and Fernando Pomares, from the programme Salvados (La Sexta), who immersed himself in Vall d’Hebron to portray the country’s transplant system, shared their insights. David Schulner highlighted that the human factor is key to reaching a broad audience with medical series, as is having the necessary expert guidance to recreate healthcare settings authentically. For her part, Zoanne Clack spoke about her series Grey’s Anatomy, which reaches its 21st season this year. “Personal relationships are the secret to our success, because love, just like medical issues, speaks to us all", she explained.

Patients who have succeeded in raising awareness of their conditions and projects also took the floor at the Congress. Sue Sheridan, President of Patients for Patient Safety US; Patricia Ripoll, founder of the VISIBLE Foundation; Julia Holleman, President of the I Love My Back association; and Daniel Gallego, President of the European Kidney Patients’ Federation, highlighted that patients’ experiences are universal and therefore have the potential to cross borders. They agreed that bringing patients’ voices into healthcare decision-making is essential to moving towards more inclusive and humane care, while also calling for patients not to be infantilised and for their in-depth, specialised knowledge of the conditions they live with to be incorporated into healthcare.

How to resolve crisis situations under pressure was also part of the programme, with a practical session led by Lilly Korpiola, Executive Director of Recado Oy and an expert in conflict resolution, who addressed three healthcare communication crisis scenarios with the participation of the audience.

Another practical component of the congress was a participatory initiative to explore the potential of artificial intelligence in health communication. Laia Morales, founding partner of Bexperience, invited attendees to build an AI agent and experiment with its capabilities. The aim of this initiative was to move from reflection to practice and explore how new tools can transform the work of professionals.

Along the same lines, Marketing Campaigns Live featured Prama Nanda and Will Grundy, who explained how they strike an emotional chord with the public through high-impact campaigns addressing such sensitive issues as suicide and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. They agreed that their inspiration has always come from real-life experiences.

The closing performance was delivered by La Fura dels Baus, with an act designed by its artistic director, Pep Gatell, who is also a patient at Vall d’Hebron. Through his staging, Gatell sought to represent all the healthcare professionals who, at a particular moment, were involved in his care.

The third Health Communication Congress would not be possible without the strategic support of Surgerii Robotics and the collaboration of Takeda, Sobi, Siemens Healthineers, Blanquerna–Ramon Llull University and Barcelona Turisme Convention Bureau, as well as 3Cat as media partner.