Patient registries fulfill a number of key roles for clinicians, researchers, non-profit organizations, payers, and policy makers. They can help the field understand the natural history of a condition, determine the effectiveness of interventions, measure safety, and audit the quality of care provided. Successful registries in cystic fibrosis, Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, and other rare diseases have become a model for accelerating progress. However, the complex tasks required to develop a modern registry can seem overwhelming, particularly for those who are not from a technical background. In this Education article, a team of co-authors from across patient advocacy, technology, privacy, and commercial perspectives who have worked on a number of such projects offer a "Registry 101" primer to help get started. We will outline the promise and potential of patient registries with worked case examples, identify some of the key technical considerations you will need to consider, describe the type of data you might want to collect, consider privacy risks to protect your users, sketch out some of the paths towards long-term financial sustainability we have observed, and conclude with plans to mitigate some of the challenges that can occur and signpost interested readers to further resources. While rapid growth in the digital health market has presented numerous opportunities to those at the beginning of their journey, it is important to start with the long-term goals in mind and to benefit from the learnings of those who have walked this path before.
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