Place of International Congresses in the Diffusion of Knowledge in Infectious Diseases.

Through digital resources, physicians, microbiologists, and researchers around the world can stay up-to-date with the newest developments in their field and are therefore less dependent on medical congresses as a provider of knowledge and education. The role of the medical congress in spreading knowledge in the face of this changing environment needs to be reexamined. The result is a new paradigm that thinks about the dissemination of medical knowledge and discovery as ongoing conversations between professionals and their extended networks, rather than activities that happen only during the congress. Even though the tools we use to deliver information and knowledge are rapidly evolving, there is confidence in the lasting value of meetings for medical professionals. Medical congresses are environments uniquely conducive to generating new ideas and solutions to problems. As organizers explore new ways of sharing knowledge globally, it is crucial that the high quality of medical congresses be maintained.