Sanitary-epidemiological surveillance: a new stage in development stimulated by digitalization and changes in legislation

The paper dwells on methodical approaches that provide implementation of provisions fixed by the Federal Law No. 248 «On state control (surveillance) and municipal control on the Russian Federation» that comes into force on July 01, 2021. The Law has strengthened the significance of a risk-oriented model for control and stressed the necessity to assess surveillance efficiency as per criteria related to minimizing risks for protected values and to enhance digitalization and electronic communication between all the concerned parties in the sphere. Taking into account more specific list of objects that are subject to control fixed in the Law, we suggest a procedure for determining categories of health risks caused by specific industrial objects combined with determining a risk category for an economic activity performed by an economic entity. Risk is assessed as a combination of a probability that obligatory requirements are violated and severity of outcomes that result from such violations. The procedure allows optimal planning of control and surveillance activities regarding enterprises and organizations that perform their activities on multiple industrial sites (network companies, large holdings, etc.). We also considered an approach to creating dynamic risk-oriented checklists and suggested specific ranking for sanitary-epidemiologic requirements that were included into such checklists basing on frequency and history of violations that were committed by an object under surveillance regarding legislative requirements and risks that damage to health might occur due to such violations. The paper contains a description of methodical approaches to creating a statistic risk profile for an object under control. Creating a risk profile with mathematical procedures for data processing (including neural network modeling) allows achieving more qualitative risk detection, drawing up a maximum targeted program for a control activity, and operative reacting to types of violations that have not occurred previously. The paper describes a principle way for introducing forms and procedures for distance control into the sanitary-epidemiologic surveillance system. It is shown that efficient distance control should be based on digitalized documents required during control and surveillance activities; maximum possible use of data taken from state, municipal, and other data sources; intensified practices of remote hardware control; as well as development and scientific and methodical support provided for an intellectual information system within control and surveillance activities.