Genericity of an epidemiological network for nephrology and rheumatology

Most countries face today a growing burden of chronical diseases. In France the multi-source information system MSIS/spl I.bar/REIN has been built to collect and analyse epidemiological data about end-stage renal diseases, dialysis and kidney transplant. It enables a better knowledge of the demand and of the needs for care. This system is patient-centred and based on a regional organization. With the support of the European Commission, the actors of the French experiment are setting up a similar system in Shanghai, albeit fully adapted to Chinese medical needs and administrative context. The design and the implementation of the system, named Gennere, have put emphasis on its genericity in order to enable the system to be easily adapted to other chronic diseases and/or other countries. The first experiment deals with two fields: nephrology and rheumatology.