In France, the term "veille sanitaire" is widely used to designate healthcare monitoring. It contains, however, a set of concepts that are not shared equally by the entire scientific community. The same is true for activities that are part of it, even if some (surveillance for example) are already well defined. Concepts such as "observation", "vigilance", "alert" for example are not always clear. Furthermore, the use of these words in everyday language maintains this ambiguity. Thus, it seemed necessary to recall these definitions as already used in the literature or legislation texts and to make alternative suggestions. This formalization cannot be carried out without thinking about the structure of "veille sanitaire" and its components. Proposals are provided bringing out concepts of formated "veille" (monitoring) and non-formatted "veille" (monitoring). Definitions, functions, (methods and tools, processes) of these two components are outlined here as well as the cooperative relationship they sustain. The authors have attempted to provide the scientific community with a reference framework useful for exchanging information to promote research and methodological development dedicated to this public health application of epidemiology.
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