The same will become true of AI (built with RWE) if purchasers are not careful. Vendors have already appeared with specific technology stacks. Time and money are always short, and the temptation to sign on to a workable solution built on proprietary technology interfaces can be powerful. It must be resisted.
The landscape of healthcare data is changing with extraordinary rapidity. The pace of change is likely to increase with no end in sight. Flexibility, expandability and the ability to evolve are key elements in any RWE solution, because what is state of the art today is obsolete tomorrow. Do not be seduced by vendors who promise benefits in exchange for holding your workflow and data hostage.
Nothing is easy, but most things are clear
For the foreseeable future, RCTs will still define the boundaries of clinical innovation, and right now RWE is a developing approach with a mandate to implement.
Effectively applying RWE at scale, requires some effort, but what that work entails is pretty clear. A lot of that work is already getting done, largely behind the scenes, and solutions are beginning to emerge that offer access to large de-identified medical imaging datasets.
Radiologists will be key participants in both data contribution and in deciding how RWE is applied in actual clinical circumstances. If they keep an eye out for these hurdles and know what they need to do when you get to them, RWE efforts will be rewarded with improved patient outcomes.
About the author: Matthew Michela is the president and CEO at Life Image.
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