Rachel Richesson and a team of students were selected to present their project entitled "Quantifying Rare Diseases in Duke Health System" as part of the Duke University Data+ Projects with Duke Information Initiative at Duke.

The project will leverage electronic medical record (EMR) data to quantify the number of rare diseases treated at Duke University Health System (DUHS) and to estimate the number and characteristics of patients affected by these conditions. Students will identify the spectrum of rare diseases encountered by DUHS over the past 8 years, analyze the healthcare utilization impact of groups of conditions, patient demographics, or clinical profiles, and develop predictive models and visualizations for identifying individual rare conditions in the EMR. This work will help prepare Duke to engage in emerging initiatives for improving the services, health, and quality of life for people affected by rare diseases in the state of North Carolina.