Pooling real-world multiple sclerosis patient data on a European level: a true story of success
Christoph Thalheim (European Multiple Sclerosis Platform; EMSP, Brussels, Belgium) reflects on the European Network of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Registries project. This symposium paper, from Neurodegenerative Disease Management, is free to access exclusively for The Evidence Base® members.
Patient-based evidence is becoming increasingly important in budget-restricted healthcare systems as the information can help influence the direction of funds towards interventions that provide the most relevant outcomes for people living with a chronic disease. The European Network of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Registries project, set up in 2011 by the European Multiple Sclerosis Platform (EMSP; Brussels, Belgium), has provided proof of concept that high quality MS data from previously unconnected sources can be integrated to inform research and improve patient outcomes.
In this symposium paper, Christoph Thalheim (EMSP) discusses the background to the Network, its development and what insights it has provided.