The complexity of diagnosing rare disease: An organizing framework for outcomes research and health economics based on real-world evidence.

Purpose: To facilitate robust economic analyses of clinical exome and genome sequencing, this study was taken up with the objective of establishing a framework for organizing diagnostic testing trajectories for patients with rare disease.

Methods: We collected diagnostic investigations-related data before exome sequencing from the medical records of 228 cases. Medical geneticist experts participated in a consensus building process to develop the SOLVE Framework for organizing the complex range of observed tests. Experts categorized tests as indicator or nonindicator tests on the basis of their specificity for diagnosing rare diseases. Face validity was assessed using case vignettes.

Results: Most cases had symptom onset at birth (42.5%) or during childhood (43.4%) and had intellectual disability (73.3%). On average, the time spent seeking a diagnosis before sequencing was 1989 days (SD = 2137) and included 16 tests (SD = 14). Agreement across experts on test categories ranged from 83% to 96%. The SOLVE Framework comprised observed tests, including 186 indicator and 39 nonindicator tests across cytogenetic/molecular, biochemical, imaging, electrical, and pathology test categories.

Conclusion: Real-world diagnostic testing data can be ascertained and organized to reflect the complexity of the journey of the patients with rare diseases. SOLVE Framework will improve the accuracy and certainty associated with value-based assessments of genomic sequencing.