COVID-19 and the Development of a Multi-Source Surveillance System

From the very start of the COVID-19 epidemic, Santé publique France mobilized, alongside all of its partners*, to build a responsive and comprehensive surveillance system by building on existing systems, refining them, and creating new ones. This system has adapted to each phase of the pandemic with the goal of producing the essential indicators needed to manage this unprecedented health crisis. In practical terms, this surveillance system provides daily indicators tracking the pandemic at the finest granularity across the country. More than 150 indicators are published on the Agency’s website, feed into the TousAnticovid app, and are made available as open data, weekly analyses of the epidemic’s progression in epidemiological hotspots, a dynamic dashboard, and numerous scientific assessments on the evolution of mental health and transmission conditions. The goal is to provide everyone—citizens and decision-makers alike—with a clear understanding of the epidemic’s progression and preventive measures.

The ADELF-EMOIS Conference: A Forum for Discussion on Health Information and Epidemiology

The meetings organized jointly by ADELF (Association of French-Speaking Epidemiologists) and EMOIS (Evaluation, Management, Organization, Information, Health) have been held every two years since 2008. The EMOIS conference has been held for 30 years thanks to the joint efforts of national and regional associations (AIM, AUNIS, BAQIMEHP, BDHF, CNIM, COPSICOM, SOFIME, URPSML)* representing the various sectors of healthcare, including public and private hospitals, and community/outpatient medicine. ADELF, founded in 1976, aims to promote the development of epidemiology and its application to public health, to establish links with national and international epidemiology societies, and to contribute to the development of ethical guidelines and best practices.

These joint sessions organized by the two associations aim to bring together, around fundamental and/or current topics of national or international interest, the various stakeholders involved in the broad fields of health information and epidemiology: clinicians, salaried and private practitioners, healthcare providers, physicians and technicians in medical information departments, managers and directors of healthcare facilities, regulatory officials, health insurance representatives, epidemiologists, IT specialists, and statisticians. In addition to bringing together healthcare professionals representing both the public and private sectors, these conferences also provide an opportunity to review regulatory and organizational developments concerning medical information, and to offer technical and scientific insights into current reforms through presentations by their authors and key stakeholders.

Santé publique France relies on a broad network of stakeholders to ensure COVID-19 surveillance: private and hospital-based physicians, emergency departments, hospital and private medical laboratories, learned societies in infectious diseases, intensive care, and emergency medicine, the CNAM, Inserm, INSEE, and others.