OBJECTIVES: In the recent decade, there has been increasing application of real-world data (RWD) in the health economic evaluations, but there lacking studies to synthesize current evidence on the application of RWD in China. This study aims to evaluate the landscape of RWD, to identify the data sources, and to assess the quality of the economic studies involved with RWD in China.

METHODS: We conducted a systematic review on local economic modeling that used RWD and published from January 2019 to December 2021 in English and Chinese databases, such as PubMed and CNKI. Followed by the analysis on the supportive areas and data sources of the applied RWD. Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) 2022 checklist was applied to assess the quality of the included studies.

RESULTS: A total of 2504 studies on economic modeling were initially identified, 61 mentioned the use of RWD, and studies with RWD comprised of 1.7%-3.0% of all studies annually. RWD was majorly used to support studies in oncology (41.0%) and cardiovascular diseases (16.4%). Cost-utility analysis accounted for 89% of the studies, with quality-adjusted life year measured as clinical outcomes. More studies (40%) were carried out from payer’s perspective, while others were from healthcare system (n=16) and societal (n=15) perspective. Diverse data sources were identified including hospital information system (49.2%), survey (n=14), and open websites and public data (n=9). The application of RWD was most frequent to support the effectiveness and cost inputs. Only 15% of the studies (n=9) met at least 80% of CHEERS criteria.

CONCLUSIONS: Although the adoption of RWD was observed in more economic studies, the supportive areas are limited to the cost inputs and the quality of data sources are varied. Further researches are encouraged to develop the framework of the generation of RWD and used in the economic modeling.