Integrated Real-World Data Warehouses Across 7 Evolving Asian Health Care Systems: Scoping Review

Abstract

BackgroundAsia consists of diverse nations with extremely variable health care systems. Integrated real-world data (RWD) research warehouses provide vast interconnected data sets that uphold statistical rigor. Yet, their intricate details remain underexplored, restricting their broader applications. ObjectiveBuilding on our previous research that analyzed integrated RWD warehouses in India, Thailand, and Taiwan, this study extends the research to 7 distinct health care systems: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam. We aimed to map the evolving landscape of RWD, preferences for methodologies, and database use and archetype the health systems based on existing intrinsic capability for RWD generation. MethodsA systematic scoping review methodology was used, centering on contemporary English literature on PubMed (search date: May 9, 2023). Rigorous screening as defined by eligibility criteria identified RWD studies from multiple health care facilities in at least 1 of the 7 target Asian nations. Point estimates and their associated errors were determined for the data collected from eligible studies. ResultsOf the 1483 real-world evidence citations identified on May 9, 2023, a total of 369 (24.9%) fulfilled the requirements for data extraction and subsequent analysis. Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia contributed to ≥100 publications, with each country marked by a higher proportion of single-country studies at 51% (80/157), 66.2% (86/130), and 50% (50/100), respectively, and were classified as solo scholars. Indonesia, Pakistan, Vietnam, and the Philippines had fewer publications and a higher proportion of cross-country collaboration studies (CCCSs) at 79% (26/33), 58% (18/31), 74% (20/27), and 86% (19/22), respectively, and were classified as global collaborators. Collaboration with countries outside the 7 target nations appeared in 84.2% to 97.7% of the CCCSs of each nation. Among target nations, Singapore and Malaysia emerged as preferred research partners for other nations. From 2018 to 2023, most nations showed an increasing trend in study numbers, with Vietnam (24.5%) and Pakistan (21.2%) leading the growth; the only exception was the Philippines, which declined by –14.5%. Clinical registry databases were predominant across all CCCSs from every target nation. For single-country studies, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines favored clinical registries; Singapore had a balanced use of clinical registries and electronic medical or health records, whereas Hong Kong, Pakistan, and Vietnam leaned toward electronic medical or health records. Overall, 89.9% (310/345) of the studies took >2 years from completion to publication. ConclusionsThe observed variations in contemporary RWD publications across the 7 nations in Asia exemplify distinct research landscapes across nations that are partially explained by their diverse economic, clinical, and research settings. Nevertheless, recognizing these variations is pivotal for fostering tailored, synergistic strategies that amplify RWD’s potential in guiding future health care research and policy decisions. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)RR2-10.2196/43741