Excellence in Communications via a Live Event or Stand-Alone Activity

Summary of work

Psoriasis is a multifaceted, systemic disease that often presents in complicated-to treat patients with underlying co-morbidities. In the UK, market research revealed that dermatology HCPs were working in isolation, failing to identify patients’ other conditions and appropriately refer them onto specialists. There was therefore a real need for better communication between the multidisciplinary team (MDT) to treat the ‘complete patient’ and improve their lives.

In 2018, Novartis ran the Excellence in Dermatology meeting, an event that bought together key MDT stakeholders in psoriasis, with the aim of providing a platform to discuss and debate different perspectives, whilst learning from each other’s experiences. A live act and immersive ‘Meet the Expert’ sessions were used to create an engaging, personalised and memorable experience for the attendees. Following the meeting, 100% of delegates strongly agreed or agreed that they felt more confident in applying techniques to improve collaboration with their peers from other disciplines in their daily work. This newfound confidence led to increased requests to Novartis from clinical centres for support with setting up joint rheumatology-dermatology clinics. Increased collaboration will improve care of the ‘complete’ psoriasis patient and ultimately change lives for the better.

Judges' comments

This immersive yet intimate event made for an emotional meeting and truly made a difference to those attending. The cross-collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach allowed for a powerful yet creative event to take place.