Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: Multinational real-world evidence (RWE) studies can improve generalizability and support health technology assessment (HTA) but require comparable data assets across jurisdictions. This study assessed the comparability of health data resources in Alberta, Canada and England to evaluate the feasibility of conducting protocol-aligned analyses for cross-jurisdictional evidence generation.
METHODS: A structured data mapping exercise compared Albertan administrative health databases and disease-specific cohorts with data sources and analytic approaches used in England. Data structures, coding systems, linkage capabilities, and outcome measures were evaluated using aggregate and patient-level data sources across six domains of hospitalizations, ambulatory care, pharmacy dispensations, laboratory data, mortality, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU)/costing.
RESULTS: Alignment was identified across five core domains: hospital care, ambulatory care, pharmacy, mortality, and HCRU/costing. The English data environment provides access to linked datasets representing more than 57 million individuals, while Alberta administrative databases capture healthcare interactions for more than 5 million residents. Comparable measures of disease prevalence, treatment patterns, mortality, and HCRU/costs could be generated in both jurisdictions following harmonization of coding and costing frameworks. Diagnostic coding systems demonstrated substantial correspondence, although procedural and medication coding systems required additional mapping. Pharmacy data were available at the population level in Alberta and through a combination of national prescribing and linked patient-level datasets in England. Laboratory data represented the principal area of divergence, with comprehensive patient-level data available in Alberta but not routinely accessible through linked national datasets in England. Differences in procedural coding and costing methodologies were identified but were considered addressable through protocol-level adaptation.
CONCLUSIONS: Alberta and England possess highly comparable RWE ecosystems to support protocol-aligned analyses across diverse therapeutic areas, while offering complementary strengths that may enhance cross-jurisdictional evidence generation. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of conducting multinational RWE studies across two universal healthcare systems, providing a foundation for future care-gap analyses, HTA and health policy decision-making.