Journal of Health Policy & Outcomes Research, 1, p. 15-33, 2015
Real World Evidence is increasingly being demanded by national payers and HTA agencies to substantiate and validate outcomes from clinical trials. Yet, the access and quality of existing databases is often very limited, what creates hurdles to evaluate evidence in ‘normal’ healthcare setting. In Poland key stakeholders have not yet fully embraced RWE as an evidence source though they have growing need for more evidence to allocate scarce resources. The coming years are crucial for the shape and accessibility of RWE in Poland – however, the standpoint and the needs of the key stakeholders are not yet recognized. Therefore, an exploratory survey was undertaken to map current awareness and expectations of physicians related to practical outcomes data and to identify pharmaceutical industry’s role in RWE generation. Consideration of stakeholder needs seems to be the natural step in the beginning of preparation for real world evidence system in Poland. The analysis showed significant physicians interest in practical evidence and broad spectrum of possible actions that can be undertaken to improve formal use of RWE in Poland. The differences in priorities between specializations are a good indicator of the unmet needs in certain therapeutic areas. Broadening doctors’, payers’, insurers’ and service-providers’ knowledge on RWE significance, raising awareness of practical implementation and improving accessibility could be crucial for shaping the RWE landscape in Poland and, consequently, for improving patient treatment results.