Active Surveillance

Active Surveillance is a systematic approach to the continuous collection of case safety information, which is proactively organized to monitor and assess the safety of medical products. This method of surveillance is designed to identify adverse events and safety concerns as they occur, rather than relying solely on spontaneous reporting.

Active surveillance can take several forms:

1. Drug-Based Active Surveillance: This involves the monitoring of adverse events in patients who are taking specific pharmaceutical products. By actively tracking the safety outcomes in individuals using these drugs, healthcare systems can promptly detect and respond to any emerging safety concerns;
2. Setting-Based Active Surveillance: This approach focuses on identifying adverse events in particular healthcare settings where patients are more likely to seek treatment for conditions related to a specific product. This allows for targeted monitoring in environments where specific risks may be heightened;
3. Event-Based Active Surveillance: Event-based surveillance centers around identifying adverse events that are likely to be associated with medicinal products based on certain characteristics or outcomes. For example, it might focus on identifying cases of liver failure associated with the use of a particular drug.

Active surveillance plays a pivotal role in pharmacovigilance and public health, as it enables the early detection of safety issues, facilitating timely interventions, risk assessment, and improved patient safety. It is a proactive approach that complements the traditional passive surveillance systems, ensuring a more comprehensive and timely understanding of the safety profiles of medical products.