The Future of Medicine: Real-World Data Drives Change

For ages, doctors have depended on pricey, lengthy randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to figure out how medicines and surgeries work. These trials answer one question at a time and use limited data from short periods only. But now, the healthcare world is embracing real-world data (RWD), gathered through digital tools like apps and wearables. Imagine blending RCT results with real-life data to observe treatments over years! Sounds impressive, right? But hold on, it's not all smooth sailing. Ensuring data accuracy, merging various data sources, and complying with rules are all big hurdles. Just like drug trials need special setups, digital health research requires innovative data systems. Techniques like common data models, federated learning, and creating fake data help make RWD more valuable. These methods tear down data walls between different healthcare systems. Yet, privacy and ethical problems remain vital. Over the last quarter-century, the spotlight has shifted from RCTs to modern methods using RWD. This shift is remarkable. This piece looks at how synthetic data, common data models, and federated learning have grown through teamwork across industries. It also offers advice for places facing similar obstacles.