Emergence of pediatric rare diseases: Review of present policies and opportunities for improvement

Abstract

In this article we discuss the steps taken by the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) to meet the health care needs of children with rare diseases and suggest possible directions for future endeavors for further improvement. We reviewed 23 reports and nine legislative documents related to pediatric rare diseases and public policy. We assessed the outcome measures of access and satisfaction with medical services by utilizing the surveys done by the European Organization for Rare Diseases -Eurordis (n = 5,963). Comparable surveys were not available in the US. Our analyses of the existing policies and surveys indicate multiple differences between the US and EU. While the US policies seem to be aimed at disease diagnosis and neonatal screening, EU legislators appear to be focusing on access to existing specialized care. However, both systems have struggled with effectively promoting new treatments. Also, while Eurordis surveys have evaluated areas such as the access to medical services, access to social services and satisfaction with the services received in Europe, there are no comparable surveys in the United States. We conclude that better tools are needed to measure the quality of care, needs-assessment and outcome of pediatric rare diseases in both the EU and US. We suggest a better assessment of areas such as access to primary and specialty care, legal advocacy, comfort-care, end-of-life care, social and financial services, psychological support and quality outcome-measures.

Keywords: orphan diseases; pediatric rare diseases; public policy; special-needs children.