We started the year off talking about health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), and how it is essential for advancing healthcare decision-making and improving overall patient outcomes. Not only was HEOR part of our top-read article for 2025, but it was also the linchpin for numerous aspects of our year.
Real-world data (RWD) is increasingly sought after in healthcare, for aiding in everything from clinical trial optimization to comparative effectiveness research studies to better understanding how to improve patient care. Whether we were presenting posters at ISPOR or launching our first podcast, MarketScan had RWD at the center of 2025. Let’s take a look back and see what kept us busy.
Utilizing healthcare data for real-world needs
It’s no secret that we have an abundance of healthcare data. The question is: how can it be truly utilized?
This was a top focal area at ISPOR 2025, which we attended back in May. The global health HEOR community gathered for the three-day event to present research, network, and learn from one another. Our sponsored posters included insulin adherence in diabetes and using linked claims and self-reported employee health risk assessment data.
Speaking of ISPOR, MarketScan authors were included in a poster recognized at the ISPOR Research Presentation Podium and Poster Awards at ISPOR Europe 2025. The analysis looked at the pulmonary nodule (PN)-related and lung-cancer related workup costs of patients with PNs within a two-year period after diagnosis of a solitary PN in the United States.
The study concluded that “procedures for PNs are expensive while imaging is much less costly. Strategies to identify the right candidates for biopsy and surgery may help to mitigate healthcare costs.”
MarketScan also discussed healthcare data in several sponsored articles throughout the year, on topics ranging from social determinants of health (SDoH) to the importance of linked data to leveraging RWD in post-marketing regulatory studies.
Expanded MarketScan Research Databases and continued partnerships
We continued our relationship with Veradigm, offering the whole picture of patient care through our Linked Claims + EHR Database. Patient journeys, healthcare utilization, clinical findings, and costs are all included, knocking down data silos to truly unlock healthcare data’s full potential.
Additionally, we expanded our Medicare database, offering more annual lives and a significant year-over-year increase in lab values. With claims from inpatient, outpatient, drug, lab, dental, and enrollment sources—plus coverage of Medicare Advantage, Supplemental, and Coordination of Benefits plans—this dataset is ideal for studying chronic conditions, cost/utilization trends, and unmet needs in aging populations. Unlike CMS data, MarketScan offers near real-time updates and preserves financial variability across plans.
Introduced just least year, the MarketScan Mortality Database continues to be part of our specialty set of databases. It integrates vital mortality data, including the year and month of death, with detailed enrollment and claims data found in the MarketScan Commercial and Medicare Databases. When researchers understand death rate, time to death, and cause of death, they can:
- Determine the end reason of study follow-up
- Evaluate population health trends and access to care
- Compare the effect of treatment on patient survival
- Identify factors predictive of death-related outcomes
- Estimate healthcare costs leading up to disease-related death
Researchers are increasingly conducting studies that integrate SDoH data, as this information can bring light to factors at a population and individual level that can impact health.
The MarketScan Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) Database works in conjunction with other data elements in the MarketScan claims databases. The SDoH Database integrates race/ethnicity, education, income, poverty, and urban/rural classification data with the enrollment and claims data for individuals included in the MarketScan Commercial and Medicare Databases.
MarketScan Research Databases offer trusted RWD and analytics for healthcare research. We look forward to seeing what we’re able to help accomplish with them next year and beyond.
Insights Uncovered: A Real-World Data Podcast series
This past year also saw MarketScan launch its first podcast: Insights Uncovered: A Real-World Data Podcast series. Every couple of months, our experts discuss the latest hot topics in RWD, explaining why it’s important and what the life sciences industry should keep an eye on.
Our inaugural year included topics on:
We’re looking forward to continuing the conversation into 2026!
Never miss an update – check out the MarketScan Spotlight
MarketScan also brought back our Spotlight series – each quarter we will highlight database updates, recent webinars, upcoming events, and more. Follow us on social media to be sure to see when the latest issue comes out.
MarketScan stands out as a proven, authoritative solution for organizations seeking to optimize data-driven decision-making. With our extensive, high-quality closed claims and integrated clinical data, we provide the representativeness, longitudinality, and interoperability required to meet evolving regulatory and research needs. MarketScan empowers organizations in the life sciences to adapt to complexity, maintain compliance, and achieve meaningful outcomes across R&D, market access, and real-world evidence initiatives.
We look forward to everything that lies ahead in RWD for 2026! Connect with our team today to see what we can do for you.
