Abstract

INTRODUCTION. Epidemiological surveillance of communicable diseases is an essential function of public health. Emergency events such as a pandemic require rapid responses that provide reliable, timely and updated information for authorities to make decisions. OBJECTIVE. To reflect on the relevance of data in epidemiological surveillance, based on a technological tool known as the Chilean national surveillance system for notifiable diseases, Epivigila. DEVELOPMENT. During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, several strategies to address the crisis were generated and technological tools gained relevance. Among them was Epivigila, which replaced the manual system at that time and became the national surveillance system, debuting a few days after the Chilean case zero. Data is the starting point of surveillance, the product of a continuous process of collection from various sources, and quality is crucial. To be useful, the data must incorporate the attributes of integrity, consistency, uniformity, and reliability. The way in which the data is collected is also important to minimize differences in the information provided through manual or digital procedures. CONCLUSION. The technological systems used for epidemiological surveillance are achieved through the joint work of multiple professionals, which highlights how fundamental interdisciplinary collaboration is to the process. Secure, rapid, updated, timely and reliable information is essential for the authorities to be able to identify the causes of the disease.