Following the unprecedented year of 2020, 2021 brought increased global awareness to our field of work. The pandemic has brought terms such as ‘epidemiology’, ‘efficacy’ and ‘real word evidence’ into lay language and the vital role of health outcomes research has become increasingly apparent. As with previous years, we have attempted to predict the trends and innovations that will drive the year ahead. As 2020 showed us, there can always be unexpected opportunities and challenges, but we believe the following topics are likely to drive health research in 2022.
Increased use of Real-World Evidence
Real-World Evidence (RWE), especially as it relates to Health Technology Assessment (HTA) submissions, will increase. Particularly the use of trial emulation study designs and indirect treatment comparison analyses. RWE is increasingly becoming more important in healthcare decision-making and with it, we will look to see more guidance from HTA bodies on what and how RWE will be accepted.
Increased use of Real-World Evidence Registry for reporting protocols
The Real-World Evidence Registry provides researchers with a fit-for-purpose platform to register their study designs before they begin work to facilitate the transparency needed to elevate the trust in the study results.
Real-World Evidence demonstrating the impact of the pandemic
This year we will see RWE evaluating the impact of the pandemic – not just COVID-19 specific outcomes, but the impact of the pandemic on other disease areas. For example, delayed surgeries, reduced screening procedures, reduced physician visits, and switches in treatment strategies, are all hypothesized to have downstream impacts on disease epidemiology and health outcomes.
Increased interest in outcomes-based agreements
This year will see growing interest in outcomes-based agreements for pricing negotiations.
Medlior 2022
At Medlior, we are excited for the potential of 2022. Regardless of what is coming in 2022, Medlior’s multidisciplinary team is looking forward to collaborating on a myriad of innovative and impactful research projects.
Contact us today to see how we can help with your next project!
