How do health technology assessment (HTA) processes differ between Singapore and Australia and what are the strategic implications for those working across both markets?

In this piece, together with our Asia-Pacific partner, Vista Health, we unpack the core principles, key differences, and regulatory considerations that matter most to stakeholders navigating the HTA landscape.

Access the full analysis and explore more expert insights, on our Publications website page HERE

Have questions or want to discuss the findings? Send us an email or reach out to our team of market access, health economics, pricing & reimbursement and regulatory affairs experts anytime.

EMAIL: info@lucidhealthcon.com

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Our Senior Consultant of Regulatory Affairs at Lucid Health Consulting, Kathryn Williams Day, offers insightful commentary on a recent abstract published in Springer Link. Titled “Using Social Media as a Source of Real-World data for Pharmaceutical Drug Development and Regulatory decision Making” by Wessel and Pogrebnyakov. Kathryn’s analysis aims to spark discussion and exploration within this dynamic and continuously evolving domain.

Social media has emerged as a promising frontier for gathering real-world data (RWD) to better understand patient experiences and outcomes. The recent study by Wessel and Pogrebnyakov highlights the immense potential of this approach, particularly in generating hypotheses around patient needs and therapeutic areas.

The sheer volume and real-time nature of social media data offer unprecedented opportunities for insights. Patients increasingly turn to platforms like X (formerly known as Twitter) for their health journeys, adverse events, and treatment experiences. This rich and thick descriptive patient-generated content could complement traditional data sources and paint a more holistic picture of real-world effectiveness and safety.

However, challenges remain. Regulatory guidance on using social media for RWD is still evolving, and concerns around data privacy and confidentiality, representativeness, and causality need to be addressed. Nonetheless, the benefits are too significant to ignore.

As the healthcare industry increasingly embraces patient-centricity, social media provides a powerful tool to amplify patient voices and uncover valuable real-world evidence. Further research and clearer regulatory frameworks are crucial to fully harness this potential. As technology advances and regulatory landscapes evolve, the convergence of social media and RWD will revolutionise how we understand and improve patient outcomes.

But here’s the billion-dollar question:

• How can this real-world evidence be leveraged to drive value in reimbursement decisions?
• Could the insights gleaned from social media help payers make more informed choices, ensuring that the most effective and valued therapies are prioritized?

The potential is immense, and the impact on healthcare economics could be significant, along with improving patient outcomes and driving evidence-based decision-making.

Our Director, George Papadopoulos adds: It is an interesting proposition to use social media as a source of RWD for pharmaceutical health technology assessment (HTA) or reimbursement decision-making. It is a novel approach that may hold promise in complementing traditional research methodologies, such as the randomised controlled trial. Nevertheless, the challenges and limitations will need to be overcome. Collaborations between pharmaceutical companies, regulatory agencies, healthcare providers, social media platforms and governments are essential to address these challenges and maximize the value of social media as a source of RWD in healthcare decision-making processes.

You can read the full abstract here: Using Social Media as a Source of Real-World Data for Pharmaceutical Drug Development and Regulatory Decision Making | Drug Safety (springer.com)

If you’re eager to explore this topic further or learn more about Lucid Health Consulting, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or get in touch with us directly.

At Lucid Health Consulting we provide expert advice in health economics, pricing & reimbursement, market access and regulatory affairs in Australia and the Asia- Pacific region. With over 30 years of Market Access, Health Economics, Regulatory & Compliance, Pricing & Reimbursement and Health Technology Assessment experience, we have helped many organisations to optimise the entry of their pharmaceutical, biotech and medical devices into the Australian and Asia-Pacific markets.

Let us show you how our strategic approach and highly experienced team can help you achieve market access in Australia. Contact and connect with us today to find out more or if you have any questions.

Contact and connect with us at Lucid Health Consulting today:

• Email: info@lucidhealthcon.com
• Phone: +61 2-8964 9600
• Website: Lucid Health Consulting | Experience Matters
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The post Unlocking the Power of Social Media for Real-World Evidence in Healthcare appeared first on Lucid Health Consulting | Experience Matters.

Joint Authors: George Papadopoulos, Sarah Griffin,  Hemant Rathi,  Amit Gupta, Bhavna Sharma & Dirk van Bavel (2022)

Our manuscript shows that JointRep, a bioadhesive hydrogel, arthroscopically injected together with microfracture surgery to facilitate cartilage regeneration is a cost-effective treatment option compared to microfracture alone from the Australian health care system perspective.

We developed an economic model to research the cost-effectiveness of using JointRep together with microfracture surgery compared to microfracture surgery alone to facilitate cartilage regeneration.

• Clinical outcomes were assessed using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis index scores (WOMAC), which is a validated patient-reported tool measuring pain, stiffness, and physical function.
• Utility scores were derived by mapping the WOMAC scores to EQ-5D scores using a published algorithm.
• Australian cost inputs were from AR-DRGs, Medicare Benefits Schedule, and Prostheses List.

Over a 3-year time horizon,

• the mean total discounted cost per patient for JointRep with microfracture surgery was estimated to be $12,996 compared to $6,974 for microfracture surgery alone, a small incremental cost of $6,022
• the model estimated total quality adjusted life years (QALYs) were higher for JointRep with microfracture surgery (2.61) compared to microfracture surgery alone (1.66), an incremental gain of 0.95 QALY.
• Sensitivity analyses conducted showed the results were substantially robust to varying parameters and assumptions.

The incremental cost effectiveness ration (ICER) was $6,328 which indicates that JointRep plus microfracture is value for money compared to microfracture surgery alone within the Australian healthcare system.

 The full manuscript is free to download here: Full article: Cost-effectiveness analysis of arthroscopic injection of a bioadhesive hydrogel implant in conjunction with microfracture for the treatment of focal chondral defects of the knee – an Australian perspective (tandfonline.com)

If you would like to find out more about Lucid Health Consulting and our published publications, use the following link to our PUBLICATIONS PAGE and/or contact us at: info@lucidhealthcon.com

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