What is health expertise?

Health expertise, as defined in the Charter on Health Expertise, is a set of activities aimed at informing public decision-makers and supporting their decision-making on health and public health safety.

In response to a question posed by a client (e.g., the Directorate General for Health), Santé publique France provides an opinion, an interpretation, or a recommendation—all as objectively grounded as possible—based on a critical analysis of the best available evidence and well-reasoned arguments grounded in explicit criteria, accompanied by professional judgment rooted in the experts’ experience.

The Agency’s opinions and recommendations, produced in accordance with the Charter on Health Expertise—whether through internal institutional expertise or external collegial expertise—serve as decision-making aids for public authorities.

The decision on how to act on the Agency’s opinions and recommendations rests with the commissioning party that submitted the inquiry.

Note: Activities aimed at generating new knowledge—whether through the collection of new data or the secondary analysis of existing data—do not fall under the scope of health expertise as defined by the Charter.

What are the principles of health expertise?

The charter on health expertise defines its principles: impartiality, transparency, plurality, and the adversarial process. It also specifies the procedures for its implementation, particularly the selection of stakeholders in health expertise, the health expertise process and its relationship to decision-making, the concept of conflicts of interest, and how they are managed.

Santé publique France has developed its expert review process in accordance with the Charter on Health Expertise. This document presents the key principles and provides an operational description of the steps and procedures involved in the health expertise process at the agency. Health expertise at Santé publique France is conducted either through internal institutional expertise, provided by its staff and regular partners, or through external collegial expertise provided by committees of experts.

The Scientific Council of Santé publique France first reviews whether it is appropriate to establish an expert committee within the agency. The expert committees report to the agency’s directorates, which provide scientific coordination and administrative support.

Participation in National Expert Groups

Santé publique France contributes to expert work on public health and health safety at the national level. Staff members contribute by serving as members of committees, commissions, or expert groups, or by testifying as part of the process of developing opinions and recommendations. They contribute either in their own capacity, based on their scientific and technical expertise, or on behalf of the agency to represent it, in accordance with the specific rules and operating procedures of each of these expert bodies. These various contributions reflect recognition of the agency’s scientific and operational contribution to this work.

At the national level, Santé publique France is an ex officio member of the five commissions of the High Council for Public Health (HCSP). The agency is also an ex officio member of the Technical Commission on Vaccinations (CTV) and the CTV Executive Committee of the High Authority for Health (HAS), with an advisory role: in this context, the agency may be called upon to provide or present epidemiological data necessary for the work of this commission.

Staff members of Santé publique France have contributed to the following French expert reports and evaluations (in alphabetical order):

• the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES): 39 deliverables in 2025;
• the National Council on AIDS and Hepatitis (CNS): 2 deliverables in 2025 (including one jointly with ANRS-MIE and HAS);
• the High Council for Public Health (HCSP): 14 deliverables in 2025;
• the High Authority for Health (HAS): 19 deliverables in 2025.