Formez Collaborated in the Realisation of a Computerised System for Surveillance on Communicable Diseases

After 46 missions and 195 days of hard work, the project partner of the Twinning light Estonia felt fully satisfied with the results achieved by the initiative which allowed for successful planning and “Implementation of a Computerised Surveillance System for Communicable Diseases” at national level. The Italian Ministry of Health, the project leader, together with its partners, such as the Italian Institute for Health and Formez followed a multi-discipline approach through the commitment of numerous experts who were selected ad hoc. Formez which was chosen for its relevant experience in Twinning and capacity building, was responsible for identifying the competent experts as well as for the financial management of the initiative aimed at the Estonian Health Protection Inspectorate (HPI).
The project pursued the objectives to realise a computerised system (CDS) in compliance with the pre-requisites established by the EU and with the guarantee to provide satisfying training for Estonian operators in order to improve their competencies in the sector of communicable diseases. For this purpose, seminars were organised for various categories of operators, like municipal and government authorities responsible for planning action guide-lines in case of emergency, employees from institutions (ministries, authorities and entities) responsible for public health, laboratories professionals and finally, employees from the sector of public health in general. The implementation of a CDS system was complex in terms of integration, standardisation and computerization of the collected data, as well as conveyance in real time of the data analysis to those authorised. Furthermore, the system was tested in order to verify its correct functioning. Broadly speaking, the initiatives aimed at improving prevention and health protection and, at the same time, at enhancing the operators’ capacities in accordance with the most relevant EU treaties and directives. In the past, data regarding communicable diseases in Estonia were transferred through the use of rudimentary means, like telephone or fax which caused delayed delivery and prevented the operators to promptly monitor potential epidemiological spread. The combination of the information deriving from various sources (general practitioners, laboratories, etc.) included in the CDS, provides a more concise and precise framework compared to the analysis of isolated data.