Using real-world evidence in healthcare from Western to Central and Eastern Europe: a review of existing barriers

As part of the HTx (Next Generation Health Technology Assessment) project, this study was aimed at identifying the main barriers for application of real-world evidence (RWE) for the purposes of health technology assessment (HTA) in the Central and Eastern European countries. A mixed methods approach was employed to identify the main barriers: a scoping review of the literature and a series of discussions with stakeholders. Based on the applied approaches, we attempted to summarize the main barriers and challenges related to transferability of RWE in five main groups: technical, regulatory, clinical, scientific and perceptional barriers. Further research should pursue the development of detailed, consensus-based guidelines to improve the harmonization and standardization of RWE.

Automated summary

This study aimed to identify the main barriers for applying real-world evidence in health technology assessment in Central and Eastern European countries. A mixed methods approach was employed, and the main barriers were summarized in five groups: technical, regulatory, clinical, scientific, and perceptional. Further research should focus on developing consensus-based guidelines to improve the harmonization and standardization of real-world evidence.