The Arizona United Rheumatology Alliance (AURA) meeting, originally scheduled for June, is now slated for Dec. 4–6. The annual meeting hosts about 80 practicing rheumatologists, allied health professionals and researchers, says Kaleo C. Ede, MD, society president. Because it’s unclear what the rest of the year will bring, Dr. Ede and AURA leaders are considering whether they should pivot to a partially or fully virtual meeting.
“Obviously, changing the format to a virtual meeting will have significant implications on our ability to raise funds to host the meeting, as a large portion of our funding comes through industry sponsorship,” Dr. Ede says. “We will have to be creative and open-minded in developing a format that works for the speakers, attendees and our sponsors.”
Lasting Effects
Sponsorship and fundraising revenues are a significant aspect of in-person state society meetings, and the rash of cancellations will have an economic effect on the societies, Mr. Cantrell says.
“If those conferences don’t get held, then they don’t get registrations or sponsors, and that impacts their revenues,” Mr. Cantrell explains. “If this is something that continues into next year and continues to be a concern, it could pose a serious threat, especially to the smaller state societies.”
“I believe that once it is safe, state society meetings will resume in person, although perhaps in a modified form,” Dr. Saitta says. “The social and intellectual exchanges just aren’t quite the same in the virtual setting. … I consider those kinds of interactions to be vital in building a collective vision for the society and in furthering our advocacy goals to improve patient care and access.”
For a current list of state society meetings, see the ACR calendar of events.
Kimberly J. Retzlaff is a freelance medical journalist based in Denver.
