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The real-world data (RWD) community recently came together in Montreal for ISPOR 2025 and—per usual— it didn’t disappoint. The conference was packed with insights, challenges, and innovative solutions, all pointing to one thing—the field isn’t just evolving, it’s transforming how we approach healthcare decisions.
From the role of humans in AI to the rising focus on equity, ISPOR 2025 captured the key forces pushing RWD forward. Here are our top five takeaways shaping the future of RWD and patient-centered care.
AI continues to drive innovation in RWD analysis, but ISPOR 2025 made one thing clear: its true power comes from the people behind it. While AI is brilliant at crunching data and spotting patterns, it’s the researchers, clinicians, and strategists who turn those findings into real-world impact.
One standout discussion explored how AI is being used for sentiment analysis in patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Sure, algorithms can dig up hidden insights in massive datasets, but it’s human experts who bring context, interpret the results, and turn them into actionable strategies.
The takeaway? Innovation isn’t just about machines working faster or smarter—it’s about combining technology with human expertise and empathy. That’s how we ensure the insights we generate are not only effective but also meaningful and authentic.
One of the most exciting takeaways from ISPOR 2025 was the growing push to leverage diverse data sources—traditional and non-traditional—to enrich RWD insights. Claims data and EHRs are critical, but the RWD community is increasingly tapping into social determinants of health (SDOH), digital health utilization metrics provided by patient-facing apps, and qualitative research to dig deeper.
By blending these sources, we’re uncovering insights that structured datasets often miss. For instance, unstructured data like physician-dictated notes can add valuable context that traditional claims data just can’t provide, including why a patient stopped, started, or switched a certain medication.
It’s a clear acknowledgment that healthcare is complex, and no single dataset can capture its full story. By embracing a wider range of evidence, RWD professionals can better identify care gaps, address unmet needs, and design interventions that put patients first.
While RWD is becoming increasingly mainstream, ISPOR 2025 highlighted a critical gap: understanding the “why” behind provider behavior. Data can reveal what is happening—prescribing trends, treatment outcomes, patient adherence—but it often fails to explain “why” prescribers make certain choices or why patients behave the way they do.
This gap underscores the importance of integrating qualitative insights with quantitative data. One case study shared at the conference combined claims data with interviews of providers, revealing that prescribing patterns for a specific therapy were influenced by factors like patient preferences, reimbursement challenges, and diagnostic uncertainty, not just clinical guidelines.
Similarly, understanding patient and caregiver perspectives—such as why they discontinue therapies or struggle with adherence—requires going beyond traditional databases. By capturing provider-documented patient experiences, psychosocial barriers, and side effects, RWD professionals can uncover the unmet needs that drive behavior and outcomes.
Equity was not just a theme at ISPOR 2025—it was a call to action. From ensuring diverse representation in evidence generation to designing culturally relevant interventions, the RWD community is taking meaningful steps to address health disparities and make sure the patient voice is central in any research.
For example, one session introduced a framework for co-creating solutions with patients rather than studying them in isolation. This approach ensures interventions are not only effective but also accessible and relevant to the populations they aim to serve. By fostering collaboration and empathy, RWD can build trust and create lasting impact in underserved communities. Afterall, we want to ensure healthcare innovation reaches everyone, not just a select few.
Health technology assessment (HTA) is adapting to innovations like digital therapeutics, AI diagnostics, and gene therapies. At ISPOR 2025, experts highlighted how real-time data, dynamic evaluations, and patient-centered metrics are reshaping traditional models.
Wearables and digital health tools stood out as game-changers, offering real-time evidence to speed up decision-making and adoption of new interventions. This agility is essential for delivering cutting-edge treatments and interventions to patients faster.
The future of HTA will demand flexibility, collaboration, and new approaches to ensure emerging technologies provide maximum value to patients and healthcare systems.
ISPOR 2025 highlighted the need to better understand the real-world “why” behind treatment decisions. Amplity AnswerY™ is ideally positioned to bridge RWD’s qualitative understanding gaps and provide insights that go beyond traditional paid claims data. AnswerY is an AI-powered platform that analyzes HIPAA-compliant physician-dictated notes, adding context and nuance to treatment decisions. It captures clinical rationale, whether it’s why therapies are chosen, switched, or discontinued. By surfacing the real-world reasoning and sentiment behind clinical choices, AnswerY empowers RWD teams to address unmet needs and care gaps more effectively.
Want to elevate your RWD initiatives? Visit Amplity Intel to learn more about AnswerY. In the meantime, explore the GLP-1 and biologics studies we presented during ISPOR.
