ISSUE:  Real world studies are important to build evidence-based public health policies and support decision-making on health care. Although emerging markets have had increasing importance in the economic global scenario, their participation in epidemiological research remains insufficient mainly due to scarce of funding associated to lack of scientific knowledge in the area. Therefore, pharmacoeconomic models are often imported from developed countries and extrapolated to the region, leading to poor health policy decisions. Specifically in LATAM, there is a historical lack of planning by public health authorities that may be associated to fragmentation of the health service system. There is an urgent need for local studies to evaluate the outcomes in real-world in order to make decisions on healthcare more appropriate to each scenario. However, there has been scarce discussion about the needs and barriers to be overcome in LATAM. Therefore, this panel will discuss the overall environment for observational studies in LATAM, aiming to identify issues, propose actions and define common guidance focused on outcomes research to improve policy decisions and support health economic studies. Furthermore, issues to be addressed include misunderstood ideas related to observational studies, lack of guidance and awareness OVERVIEW:  Scientific research is fundamental to improve the quality of healthcare. Epidemiologic and observational studies, such as effectiveness and safety studies and cost of illness, are fundamental types of outcomes research. Findings from randomized clinical trials can be greatly enhanced by observational studies, once external validity from clinical trials is limited and less suitable to support health polices and economic models. Observational studies are necessary not exclusively to facilitate public health policies, but also to preserve their integrity. Based on the global scenario and examples from other countries, the panel will propose engagements and steps to improve policies and to promote awareness in the region.