Drug health surveillance in the risk society

Abstract

Abstract Drug health surveillance protects the health of the population by preventing substandard, falsified, or unregistered drugs from being consumed and causing harm. This essay discusses drug health surveillance in a context of continuous exposure of individuals to risks that directly interfere with the health-disease process. Based on reflections about health risk and risk society, associated with Canguilhem’s philosophy of life and Schwartz’s ergology, it argues for the need to understand human activity and work to act on risk. Possible challenges for health inspection action include: (1) conceptual review; (2) regulatory updating; (3) development of regulatory mechanisms and tools; and (4) expansion of technical and training capacity. To face them, the involvement and participation of the various actors in cooperation and collaboration spaces, as well as the construction of a permanent forum of discussion or technical/sectorial meetings, is considered promising. Studies that highlight the concrete work of supervision teams and that analyze human activity in the relationship between the prescribed and the real can help to understand the experience of dealing with risk, the adequacy of standards, training needs, among others.