The misinformation crisis facing healthcare in an evolving Medical Affairs landscape

Attending the MAPS EMEA Annual Meeting in Zurich this week was one of those experiences that reminds you why in-person events still matter. Three days at The Circle Convention Center, surrounded by Medical Affairs professionals from across biopharma, biotech, and MedTech gave me a more energised sense of where this function is heading than any number of webinars or reports could provide.

As someone who works closely with Medical Affairs teams on their talent needs, MAPS is always a valuable opportunity to immerse myself in the conversations shaping the profession, reconnect with familiar faces, and discover what is keeping Medical Affairs leaders up at night.

The themes that shaped MAPS Zurich 2026

Healthcare misinformation is a very real crisis

The conference opened with a keynote from Vernon Bainton that I found genuinely thought-provoking, and that set the tone for much of what followed over the next three days.

The message that landed most powerfully was that healthcare misinformation is no longer an emerging concern, it’s a pressing public health crisis which is accelerating and driven by social media, AI-generated content, and what the session memorably described as the rise of the “Chat GP” era.

Patients are increasingly turning to AI tools and online platforms before they consult a healthcare professional. According to discussions during the session, 61% of HCPs feel patient trust has meaningfully shifted, with individuals arriving at appointments already convinced they know what condition they have, which treatment should be prescribed, what medication they need, and even what dietary intervention will “heal” them. The consultation has in many cases become a negotiation rather than a conversation.

What really struck me was a video shown during the session, demonstrating how quickly scientific information can become distorted as it travels across digital channels. Edited posts, reels, selective data snippets and reposted commentary mean that by the time information reaches a patient, the original scientific context is often completely lost. 

The challenge is no longer whether Medical Affairs should engage with this problem. It is whether the industry can afford not to. Medical Affairs sits uniquely positioned as the scientific bridge between data, healthcare professionals, patients, and society and that position carries a real responsibility to:

• defend credible science
• simplify complex clinical data responsibly
• strengthen trust with HCPs and patients alike
• challenge misinformation proactively, rather than reactively
• collaborate across industry to raise the standard of healthcare communication
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Initiatives like the Undoctored Truth Alliance are exactly the kind of cross-industry response this challenge demands. The future of healthcare communication must not be shaped by those who shout loudest but by the most credible, evidence-based, and trusted ones – and surely Medical Affairs professionals are better placed than almost anyone else to be those voices?

It was an impactful way to open the conference, and the theme of credibility and trust in medical communication ran as a thread through much of what came afterwards

If misinformation was the human challenge of MAPS 2026, then AI was the operational one. And what I found most encouraging across the sessions I attended was how the conversation has matured. There was far less talk of AI as a concept, and far more focus on what it can actually do, and how to do it responsibly.

Two platforms stood out to me in particular, not because they were the loudest in the room, but because both approached AI in a way that felt genuinely useful.

ADVANCE® AI, presented during a session on “Measuring the Impact of Medical Engagement,” showed how real-time data on HCP engagement can be used to support more meaningful conversations and sharper decision-making across Medical Affairs teams. What I appreciated about their approach was the framing: this is not about performance management. It is about learning. Identifying where MSL training needs refreshing, understanding sentiment in the field, and adapting strategy accordingly. That distinction matters, and it was refreshing to hear it articulated clearly.

Within3, presenting on “AI-Driven Insights for Launch Excellence,” addressed something I hear about consistently in my conversations with Medical Affairs leaders: the challenge of pulling insight from too many disconnected sources. Field medical discussions, congress feedback, social listening, claims data, stakeholder engagement – Within3’s approach brings those threads together into something that actually feels actionable. Spotting emerging themes earlier, connecting insights more easily, and reducing the manual aggregation work that can eat into the time MSLs have for meaningful HCP engagement.

What both platforms share is a focus on responsiveness. The ability to identify emerging questions or concerns from HCPs in near-real time, and to rapidly update field teams with relevant discussion topics or areas to explore further, represents a genuinely different approach to Medical Affairs strategy. Rather than periodic insight-gathering exercises, it enables continuous learning in a much more dynamic and effective way to understand how KOL and HCP perspectives are evolving.

I came away from both sessions genuinely convinced that AI, used in the right way and at the right time, can add real value to Medical Affairs teams. Not by replacing the human expertise and relationship-building that sits at the heart of the function, but by giving those professionals better information, faster, so that their interactions count for more.

So, what does this mean for Medical Affairs candidates and hiring companies in this space?

From the conversations I had in Zurich, several talent trends stood out clearly.

Demand for MSLs with digital and AI fluency is growing sharply

The shift toward tools like ADVANCE® AI and Within3 means organisations increasingly want MSLs who are comfortable working with data-driven insight platforms — not as technologists, but as professionals who know how to integrate those insights into their engagement strategy.

The profile of an effective MSL is evolving

Scientific credibility remains non-negotiable. But the ability to identify and counter misinformation, engage meaningfully across digital channels, and communicate complex science clearly to diverse audiences is now a genuine differentiator. Soft skills and communication capability are being weighted more heavily than before.

Medical Affairs leaders are thinking carefully about AI governance

Multiple conversations touched on the question of how to deploy AI tools in ways that are compliant, transparent, and consistent with the trust-building mission of Medical Affairs. Organisations that are thinking proactively about governance frameworks are ahead of the curve.

Cross-functional experience is increasingly valued

As Medical Affairs takes on a more strategic role, professionals who have worked across HEOR, regulatory affairs, or commercial functions (and who understand how Medical Affairs fits into the broader picture) are genuinely sought after.

Medical Affairs professionals tend to be deeply committed to what they do. Not because of the commercial context they work within, but because at its heart, the function is about getting the right scientific information to the right people at the right time. The conversations in Zurich reflected that commitment. Whether the topic was misinformation, AI, or career development, the underlying question was always the same: how do we do this better?

For those of us who work in recruitment within this space, that sense of shared purpose is both inspiring and motivating. Our role is not simply to fill positions, it’s to help organisations build the Medical Affairs teams they need to do this work well.

Zurich reminded me why that matters.

MAPS EMEA 2026 offered a clear sense of where Medical Affairs is heading: more strategic, more technologically capable, more connected to the broader evidence and access ecosystem, and more directly engaged with the public health challenges of misinformation and trust.

The organisations that will thrive in this environment are those investing now in the right talent. High on the list are professionals who combine scientific depth with strategic agility, digital fluency with genuine HCP relationships, and a commitment to evidence-based communication that can hold its own against the noise.

If you would like to discuss hiring trends in Medical Affairs, career development, or how we can support your team as the function evolves, I would love to connect.

Kerry is a Senior Consultant at Carrot Recruitment, specialising in Medical Affairs and Clinical Research recruitment across the pharmaceutical, biotech, and MedTech sectors.

Further reading:

• ADVANCE® AI — AI-powered Medical Affairs engagement analytics
• Within3 — AI-driven insights platform for Medical Affairs and launch excellence
• Undoctored Truth Alliance — cross-industry initiative addressing healthcare misinformation

   

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Kerry Harris

Senior Consultant