Overview
ISO/TS 6226:2025 - Health informatics - Reference architecture for syndromic surveillance systems for infectious diseases - defines a reference architecture for event-based syndromic surveillance (EBS) systems focused on infectious disease detection. The Technical Specification outlines architectural components, key concepts, available data sources, and expected outputs for syndromic surveillance operating from the symptom-onset stage through the health‑behaviour stage (prior to healthcare encounter). Non-infectious hazards and chronic disease surveillance are explicitly out of scope.
Key topics and technical focus
- Reference architecture: A high‑level model describing components, relationships and functions for syndromic surveillance systems.
- Event-based vs indicator-based surveillance: Clarifies definitions and roles of EBS (near real‑time, unstructured reports) and indicator‑based systems (structured, routine indicators).
- Data sources: Identifies clinical and non‑clinical inputs used in syndromic surveillance (e.g., electronic health records, care‑seeking metrics, laboratory ordering volume, absenteeism, over‑the‑counter sales, web searches).
- Data processing: Architectural considerations for data ingestion, normalization, analysis and interpretation to support near real‑time monitoring and early warning.
- Surveillance services: Capabilities for detection, situational awareness, alerting, and dissemination of actionable intelligence to public health actors.
- Infrastructures and external services: Deployment and integration aspects, including APIs, interoperability and system interfaces.
- Policy input and governance: Role of policy, privacy and operational rules that shape surveillance outputs and response actions.
- Terminology and interoperability: Definitions (API, EHR, interoperability, EWAR) to encourage consistent implementation and integration across systems.
Practical applications
- Early outbreak detection and rapid public health response through near real‑time monitoring.
- Situational awareness during incidents (geographic clusters, affected age groups).
- Decision support for public health authorities, emergency response teams, and event managers.
- Baseline monitoring and reassurance during mass gatherings or routine surveillance operations.
- Foundation for vendors and implementers building interoperable syndromic surveillance platforms.
Who should use this standard
- Public health authorities and epidemiology units designing or modernizing surveillance systems.
- Health informatics architects, system integrators and software vendors implementing EBS solutions.
- Policy makers and program managers establishing governance, data sharing and privacy safeguards.
- Researchers and public-health-focused IT teams seeking an interoperable architecture for infectious disease surveillance.
Related standards
- ISO 23903 (Reference architecture concepts) - referenced as a high‑level guide for architecture modelling.
- ISO/TC 215 (Health informatics) - the technical committee responsible for this specification.
Keywords: ISO/TS 6226:2025, syndromic surveillance, health informatics, event-based surveillance, reference architecture, infectious diseases, early warning, interoperability.