OBJECTIVES: Rheumatic diseases are often characterized by pain and disability. Many pharmaceuticals are available for their treatment and a considerable number of health economic(HE) studies have been published. Nordic countries maintain long-term comprehensive disease and drug registries. HE analyses, particularly those which are based on registry-data, can provide important information for health-care decision makers. The primary objective of this study is to systematically review HE analyses of rheumatic diseases which utilize Nordic registry-data, and to provide a descriptive and critical analysis of this strategy. METHODS: Published literature was identified by searching the following databases: MEDLINE; EMBASE; Cochrane Library and Health Economic Evaluations Database; and PubMed. Search terms were pertinent to rheumatic diseases and HE. One reviewer screened and subsequently extracted data from studies which fulfilled inclusion/exclusion criteria. References and citation search was done on included studies. RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS: Registries provide a rich source of information on real-world patients which are being incorporated into health economic analyses. Although Nordic registry-data is being utilized in HE studies, many analyses important to HE are not represented. These preliminary findings suggest that HE should continue to broaden the use and application of registry-data in the field of rheumatic disease. Given the gap in data required for an economic-evaluation (e.g. modeling), researchers must continue to be aware of potential issues associated with the synthesis of RCT and registry-data.