.png)
This data can offer meaningful insights into treatment outcomes, helping researchers and clinicians refine pharmacotherapy for mental disorders. However, despite the potential, no standards for use of real-world data in estimating treatment outcomes exist and there is high variability in treatment outcome definitions.
In the field of psychiatry, proxy measures such as treatment continuation, medication switching, or polypharmacy with psychotropic drugs have been employed to estimate outcomes using RWD. Yet, the absence of standardised definitions for treatment outcomes leads to high variability across studies, complicating the interpretation of findings.
Over the past 10 months, an expert group consisting of members from REALMENT and other projects, supported by ECNP have come together in a Taskforce to address these challenges. Discussions, conducted through regular monthly meetings, focused on defining treatment outcomes for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder using RWD. Drawing on our collective expertise, we evaluated outcomes related to the use of antidepressants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers.
At our recent meeting in Milan, we finalised a set of recommendations aimed at improving how RWD can be used to define pharmacological treatment outcomes. In particular, we emphasised the need to validate proxy measures—derived from health registries—by linking them with other data sources, such as patient questionnaires. By integrating data from different health systems and registries with self-reported outcomes on medication response and side effects, we can create more accurate and reliable treatment outcome definitions.
These recommendations will help harmonise the use of RWD in mental health research, ultimately leading to more precise treatment strategies, improved patient outcomes, and a reduction in adverse effects.