Brazil's concerted approach to healthcare surveillance:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The Brazilian healthcare surveillance agency - Agencia Nacional de Vigilancia Sanitaria (Anvisa) - has signed a co-operation agreement with the national technical standards association (ABNT), with the aim of "moving towards international standards of healthcare surveillance". The agreement, which was witnessed by International Standards Organization general secretary Alan Bryden, extends the working relationship that Anvisa already has with ABNT in certain areas, including standards related specifically to medical devices and pathology laboratories.