title: [Efficacy of public health surveillance systems].
abstract: Public health surveillance system (PHSS) serves for continuous and systematic data collection, analysis and interpretation, in order to enable planning, implementation and evaluation of public health practice. PHSS should alert to events (usually unwanted), assist to create public health policy and strategies, document effects and achieving the goals as well as setting public health priorities. Surveillance systems monitor communicable and non-communicable diseases, health resources and public health programs and interventions. The main drawback of the existing PHSS is fragmentation and delay of information, usually not up-to-date. Modern information and communication technology enables getting data from hospitals and other health information systems directly, and use them for surveillance. Our model of surveillance system appeared as not standalone but an integrated system getting data that are by-product of frontline workers. Therefore, the electronic health records should be the source of data for disease surveillance. Medical, nurse and similar schools as well as the Ministry of Health and health institutions could be data sources for health personnel surveillance. Medical devices can be monitored by data coming from institutions and bodies dealing with such devices. Public health programs defined by institutions and bodies can be monitored by them and others taking part in implementation. Therefore, they all can be the source of data for surveillance of public health programs and interventions. Without such systems, any rationalization in health care and better quality is not possible. Therefore, the present public health surveillance system should be improved, as we have suggested, by using current information and communication technology and integrating the data that are by-product of the frontline worker, and by including the end users in system development at the very beginning.
authors.affiliation: Andrija Stampar School of Public Health, University of Zagreb, and Merkur University Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia. josipa.kern@snz.hr
authors.forename: Josipa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kern
authors.forename: Marijan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Erceg
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Poljicanin
mesh_terms: D017523:Croatia; D006801:Humans; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015980:Public Health Practice