The use of RWD has increased in health economics, which is why ISPOR has also become popular among RWD professionals. This year, RWD and RWE will be discussed in numerous presentations, workshops, posters, and discussions.
ISPOR, the conference organizer, is globally recognized as the preeminent professional society for health economics and outcomes research (HEOR). ISPOR’s community boasts an impressive membership of over 19,000 individuals and chapters spanning over a hundred countries worldwide.
ISPOR publishes a biennial Top 10 HEOR Trends Report, which highlights the latest trends in healthcare decision-making worldwide. The topics are compiled using information from HEOR conferences and events, as well as articles and blogs.
The RWE has held the first place on the trend list for two years now. Before that – in 2019 – RWE was in third place. In 2018, RWE didn’t show up on the list yet – and no wonder, as it’s a relatively new field of science.
In addition, several topics on the trend list are associated with the top performer RWE. RWD, which holds the ninth position, and value assessment, which ranks second, are also linked to RWE. RWE is derived from RWD and value assessment can evaluate the effectiveness of a treatment by comparing the healthcare resource utilization costs of patients who have been treated versus those who have not.
Artificial intelligence (AI) ranked tenth is also connected with RWD. AI can be utilized for several RWE needs, such as the virtual control arm, extracting unstructured data from patient texts, or generating synthetic data.
Medaffcons’ experts have traditionally participated in ISPOR. This year, ten of us will be present. We have extensive experience in RWE utilization and health economics. We know Finnish RWD inside out we have been involved in numerous pharmaceutical industry projects.
We are eagerly anticipating engaging in insightful lectures and discussions at ISPOR Europe 2023 or in future events. We would be delighted to discuss Finnish RWD and the trends of RWE, whether it be through chance encounters or prior arrangement.
Author: Liisa Ukkola-Vuoti
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Patient-centricity was one of the key themes at ISPOR Europe in Barcelona this November. Participants also discussed topics such as the use of Real-World Evidence (RWE) in Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and the significance of artificial intelligence. In this article, Medaffcon's ISPOR attendees share the most important themes from this year's event.
Sr. Scientific Advisor
PhD
liisa.ukkola-vuoti@medaffcon.fi
Liisa joined Medaffcon in January 2020. She has over ten years of experience of working as a scientific advisor and research scientist for private and public sector organizations. Liisa holds a PhD in medical genetics, and she mentions that especially the therapeutic areas related neurology and psychiatry appeal to her.
Liisa’s strengths include strong expertise on medical sciences and research, as well as on creating evidence-based content, because she also has experience of being a science book author. Establishing cross-scientific collaboration, scientific exchange, and creating networks are one of her key work philosophies.
One of her main professional interests is the secondary use of health-related data to create real-world-evidence in order to improve and develop treatment practices. ”Due to the unique registries and data lakes available in Finland, in principle all the required data is already available or accumulating all the time, which makes it important to utilize this real-world-data to improve patient care and general well-being.”
Sr. Scientific Advisor
RWE Lead
PhD
+358 50 345 2393
mariann.lassenius@medaffcon.fi
Mariann joined Medaffcon’s team in 2016 after finishing her PhD. The transition to real world evidence (RWE) research was a natural continuum to her previous research career. Through RWE studies, she has had the privilege to gain a broad insight into working with different stakeholders within the healthcare field. The vast proportion of her days goes towards interacting with clients, planning and performing RWE studies, and supporting Medaffcon’s RWE team. Subjects that keep her work interesting are the vast variability of customers and projects, problem-solving, and interacting with people.
“The number of RWE studies has increased since stakeholders within the healthcare industry have an increasing demand for knowledge-based decision making tools that need to be fulfilled. The future, therefore, has an ever-increasing emphasis on RWE”.
Sr. Consultant
BBA
+358 40 355 6111
petri.maatta@medaffcon.fi
Petri joined Medaffcon in 2022 as a consultant. Petri holds extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry especially in Market Access, sales and marketing. Before joining Medaffcon Petri worked in various managerial roles in the pharmaceutical industry which has provided him with a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the field. Petri conducted his BBA studies in the Netherlands and Finland providing him with a great basis to work in international organizations.
Petri’s extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry and his background in business equip him with a unique perspective in the field of Life Science and commercialization of medicines in Finland. His main focus is on helping companies bring Life Science innovations and services to the Finnish market. Petri’s expertise in Market Access, sales and marketing as well as his deep understanding of the pharmaceutical industry provide Medaffcon’s team with valuable information as they provide customer solutions.
“Resource challenges alongside technological development and digitalization provide considerable opportunities to enhance healthcare in Finland. As data collection and digitalization develop, the effectiveness of health technologies can be demonstrated more precisely. While advanced health technologies and medicine offer more effective treatments, bringing them to the market require special know-how and understanding. Thus, companies, the research sector and governmental agencies should continue to further co-operation in effectively bringing health technologies and medicines to the market while simultaneously managing resource allocation in a rational manner.”
Biostatistician
Data Analysis Lead
MSc (Tech.)
+358 44 314 1597
iiro.toppila@medaffcon.fi
Iiro joined Medaffcon in March 2017 as a Biostatistician. For the preceding four years, he has worked as a research assistant in an academic study group, analyzing clinical and genetic patient data. Iiro holds a Master of Science degree in Technology in Bioinformation Technology.
Iiro’s strengths include his strong expertise in statistics and data-analysis, hands-on experience in working with sensitive patient data, and strong interdisciplinary communication skills with experts from various fields. In the field, he is particularly interested in the large data amounts made available with the revolution of technology and how the information received such data can potentially be utilized to draw concrete conclusions, both in order to understand the nature of diseases and to advance the goals of the pharmaceutical industry and patient treatment.
“Machine learning and AI-based solutions will have a major impact on the healthcare sector now and in the future. However, effectively utilizing the already collected and available health-data will have a higher importance in order to improve health-care”.