Utilizing Routine Care Data of Rare Diseases: Challenges, Chances and Call for Collaboration

Approximately 300 million people are living with a rare disease (RD) worldwide. Despite this significant health burden, the prevalence of many RDs is underestimated due to the limited specificity of standard coding systems such as the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10), which assigns broad codes to many RDs, hindering precise epidemiological analyses. The precise naming and coding of RDs using terms and identification numbers from the Orphanet Rare Disease Ontology (ORDO) is increasingly being used in Germany and across Europe. This poster highlights ongoing efforts in identifying the challenges and chances in enhancing routine care data for secondary use with the purpose of improving RD visibility and epidemiological understanding, helping to pave the way for the European Health Data Space in the field of RD.