The word “prism” might make you think of a triangular piece of glass that separates white light into a rainbow of colors. But at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it means a powerful, computer-based system that separates critical bits of information from vast streams of healthcare data in order to investigate adverse events and determine if there is a connection to a specific vaccine.

The FDA “prism”–called Post-licensure Rapid Immunization Safety Monitoring System (PRISM)—might not have such a colorful name, but it’s a bright light in the agency’s continual efforts to identify adverse effects in a timely manner.

PRISM is a cooperative effort between the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research and its partners in the healthcare and medical insurance communities. It analyzes health-insurance claims data from four national healthcare plans: Aetna, HealthCore (Wellpoint), Humana, and OptumInsight (United Healthcare).

Since it was first inaugurated in 2010, PRISM has made valuable contributions to public safety.

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