Barry Byrne, MD, PhD: Going Virtual With Medical Meetings
The chief medical advisor for the Muscular Dystrophy Association discussed the switch to virtual conferences and shared his insight on how the neuromuscular community can move forward amid COVID-19.
“We are challenging the technology, [but] there are still going to be benefits to getting back to normal, and people traveling to be together and share those common experiences that help us advance the field.”
As a large sum of the United States population has shifted to virtual work while the medical community combats the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a large shift to virtual work for those health care workers as well. Most of the medical conferences and meetings planned for the first half of this year have been canceled, leaving the scientific side of things scrambling.
Barry J. Byrne, MD, PhD. Byrne, chief medical advisor, Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), and associate chair of pediatrics and director, University of Florida Powell Center for Rare Disease Research and Therapy, connected with NeurologyLive virtually to discuss this very challenge. He shared insight on the MDA’s experience with cancelling its annual meeting and how the group adjusted. As well, he shared his insight into the concerns about the neuromuscular community amid the pandemic and how it has come together to follow the guidelines and stay safe.
For more information, visit the MDA’s resource center, which expands on the CDC’s guidelines for COVID-19 to offer the neuromuscular community-specific information relevant to COVID-19. It can be accessed at the MDA COVID-19 webpage.
