Most biostatisticians pursue careers in clinical trials or public health, but there is another option: Real-World Evidence (RWE). RWE which offers a promising career for those seeking something different.
In this post I’ll explain what RWE is, what you can expect when working as a biostatistician in this field, and why it’s an attractive and rewarding career choice for biostatisticians.
What is Real-world Evidence?
Real-World Evidence refers to clinical evidence of a medicinal outside of a controlled clinical trial setting. RWE is derived from Real-World Data (RWD), which comes from sources like electronic health records (EHR), insurance databases or patient registries.
Now that we’ve covered the acronyms, why is RWE so important in clinical research?
The Growing Importance of RWE
RWE is a growing field in clinical research for several reasons:
- Real-world outcomes: RWE helps us understand the effectiveness of treatments in real-world conditions, beyond the controlled environments of clinical trials.
- Cost-savings: Data is cheap, clinical trials are expensive. Collecting RWD is more affordable than conducting a clinical trial. Researchers can obtain a huge amount of data without the expense of recruiting patients for trials.
- Industry Demand: We’re in the age of data. As technologies like AI and machine learning advance, there’s an increasing need to use RWD to inform healthcare decisions, improve patient outcomes, and shape health policies.
So, what does this mean for you as a biostatistician interested in entering the RWE field?
Real-World Evidence: A Great Career Move for Biostatisticians
RWE is an emerging field that offers many opportunities to accelerate your career. By working in RWE, you can learn new skills, transition to new roles, and make a meaningful impact in healthcare.
Skills
Working with RWD means dealing with large, complex and messy datasets. This complexity provides you with the opportunity to expand your skillset, which is excellent for your career.
- Data Manipulation: You’ll need to master working with with massive datasets. This might involve learning new tools like Spark for data processing. You may need to brush up on your SQL skills for data extraction. There might also be a need to understand the computational burden of the code you’re running.
- Advanced Statistical Techniques: With large datasets, you can use a wider range of statistical methods. For example, you can explore data science methods like natural language processing (NLP), cluster analysis, and use a wider array of variables in your models that aren’t feasible with smaller datasets.
- Study Design: You’ll need to understand how to design statistical analyses with RWD. This includes considering potential biases and other important factors when using real-world data.
It may seem overwhelming at first, but mastering these skills will provide many opportunities for career growth and flexibility.
Career Flexibility and Growth
A career as a biostatistician in RWE opens the door to many roles beyond traditional biostatistics. The skills you gain can help you transition into data science, statistical engineering, or even data engineering.
In my last role, I worked closely with the data engineering team to improve the accuracy of our RWD. This expanded my career opportunities and has enabled me to help enhance data quality at my current company.
Career paths in RWE are more fluid and diverse than those in traditional biostatistics jobs in clinical trials or public health. This flexibility allows you to work in industries like health tech, biotech, pharmaceuticals, insurance, and government.
Impact
Biostatisticians in RWE can directly contribute to improving patient care by analyzing data that reflects real-world scenarios, bridging the gap between clinical trials and everyday healthcare. You’ll have the opportunity to work on projects that influence healthcare policy, population health, and medical decision-making on a large scale.
Project Variety
RWE roles tend to have fewer of the regulatory deadlines and strict controls compared to clinical trials, providing you more flexibility in your job role. These positions usually involve a mix of data analysis, consulting, and working with interdisciplinary teams, offering variety in day-to-day tasks.
Career Security
As the use of data in healthcare continues to evolve, RWE offers an exciting career choice for those passionate about healthcare innovation. With the healthcare industry increasingly focused on patient-centered approaches and real-world outcomes, RWE biostatisticians will play a central role in shaping the future of medicine.
With the future outlook of RWE being very bright, this comes with increased career security in your role. Given the growing interest from healthcare organizations and investors in RWD, RWE offers long-term job stability and the chance to work at the forefront of healthcare research and development.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a career that allows you to learn diverse skills, work on varied and impactful projects, and thrive in a growing field that offers career growth and security, consider a career in RWE. You can check out RWE opportunities on
these job boards.
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