A study on the opportunity of setting up a European Expert Network for Rare communicable diseases and other rare pathologies in the context of Mobility and Globalization (EURaDMoG) has been conducted under the EU Third Health Programme (2014-2020) for exploring the options to set up such European expert network on rare diseases in the context of mobility and globalisation, with the purpose of improving healthcare provision. The study takes into account different operational, funding and sustainability criteria.
The study is concluding that non-communicable and communicable rare diseases linked to mobility and globalisation should be differentiated. Moreover, since all identified non-communicable rare diseases linked to mobility and globalisation are already covered by different existing European Reference Networks (ERNs), there is no need to create a new specific network for them nor to include them in a new European network of rare diseases linked to mobility and globalisation. Consequently, the study focused its scope on rare communicable diseases linked to mobility and globalisation, considering three scenarios:
If the primary focus is health care provision, a new ERN could have the potential to improve the quality of care. However, a potential new network should not replace or duplicate current existing networks, but should solely be complementary.
The full study is accessible at the Publicantions Office of the EU.