SCOUT has formed a joint venture with Rare Expertise, a company with proprietary data-driven tools for identifying and activating people with rare disorders. The goal of the venture is to shorten the patient journey for people with rare diseases, helping them obtain an accurate diagnosis and begin appropriate medical treatment more quickly.
Currently, it takes an average of five to seven years for a rare disease to be correctly diagnosed. According to the National Organization for Rare Diseases, such disorders are inherently difficult to identify and there are relatively few experts in any of the 7,000 known rare disorders, which collectively affect nearly 30 million Americans, more than half of them children. Physicians receive little training in rare diseases and seldom encounter them in practice. On average, a patient will go to seven doctors -- often being misdiagnosed along the way -- before finally getting a correct diagnosis. And because rare diseases are degenerative and frequently life-threatening, the patient may be hospitalized numerous times during the journey and become progressively ill.
“All of our clients are working to accelerate the process of identifying and activating people with rare conditions in a way that gets them to the appropriate doctor's office so they can be accurately diagnosed and properly treated," said Raffi Siyahian, principal at SCOUT. "Combining SCOUT's strong strategic and creative marketing services with the technologically sophisticated products and services of Rare Expertise equips us to help patients, physicians and healthcare companies achieve that goal. At last, companies can get this level of experience and innovation in a one-stop marketing partner."