To fulfill its mission of health monitoring and surveillance, Santé publique France must have access to reliable data in order to produce multi-source epidemiological indicators in near real time across the entire patient care pathway. Coordinated by Santé publique France, the Orchidée project aims to establish multi-thematic epidemiological surveillance based on hospital data. The network covers all regions of mainland France and the French West Indies.

Where did the Orchidée project come from?

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of monitoring the dynamics of an emerging phenomenon on a daily basis to better control its spread among the population.

In France, the reporting of case numbers relies on specific surveillance systems such as the system for notifiable diseases, emergency departments (Oscour), community-based healthcare (SOS Médecins, Réseau Sentinelle), medical and social care facilities or services, as well as biological data (Laboé-SI), virological data (Emergen-DB), and wastewater data (Sum’eau). In addition, mortality is monitored daily, notably through electronic death certification.

Despite this multi-source system, apart from emergency departments and certain surveillance systems in intensive care units, there is no data collection that provides a comprehensive view of hospital care. It is therefore important, to obtain a comprehensive view, to supplement the hospital surveillance system. With this in mind, the Orchidée project was created as part of a consortium coordinated by Santé publique France, whose kickoff meeting took place on October 9, 2024.

What are its objectives?

Orchidée’s main objective is to provide authorities with high-quality epidemiological indicators so they can assess the epidemiological situation in hospitals in near real time. To achieve this, the concept of “secondary data use” is prioritized so that indicators are generated from existing hospital data, without requiring healthcare professionals to enter additional information twice, thereby avoiding wasted time. This model is intended to be rolled out widely to strengthen national, regional, and European capacities for disease surveillance and to leverage the health data reported daily by hospitals.

What will Orchidée bring to the field of public health?

Orchidée will fill a gap in France’s surveillance system by providing real-time insights into the health situation in major French hospitals regarding morbidity and/or mortality for a range of conditions. It will also enable us to prepare for future exceptional health situations, particularly the emergence of new viruses that could impose a significant burden in terms of morbidity and/or mortality in hospitals.

Who are the key players?

The Orchidée project is led by a consortium coordinated by Santé publique France, with the following participants:

• 26 university hospitals (Amiens, Angers, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Besançon, Bordeaux, Brest, Caen Normandie, Dijon, Grenoble, Guadeloupe, Lille, Limoges, Lyon, Martinique, Metz-Thionville, Montpellier, Nantes, Nancy, Nice, Poitiers, Reims, Rennes, Rouen, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Tours),

• the Health Data Hub,

• the University of Bordeaux,

• the School of Advanced Studies in Public Health.

How will the results be reported?

The epidemiological indicators compiled by hospitals will be sent to Santé publique France, which will centralize, compile, interpret, and report them. These indicators will be available on Santé publique France’s open data website and will be used in epidemiological bulletins and various publications (articles, reports, etc.) posted on our website.

Funding

The project is co-funded by the European Commission to the tune of 9.2 million euros under the EU4Health program (call: EU4H-2023-DGA-MS3-IBA, project: 101182831). The total project budget is €15.3 million over a four-year period (October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2028). The EU4Health program aims to improve and strengthen national surveillance systems.

Timeline / Key Project Milestones from Late 2023 to 2026