Resources

The NHSN is a secure, Internet-based surveillance system that expands and integrates patient and healthcare personnel safety surveillance systems managed by the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Facilities that participate in certain reporting programs operated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) can do so through use of NHSN. Furthermore, some U.S. states use NHSN as a means for healthcare facilities to submit data on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and transfusion-related adverse events mandated through their specific state legislation. NHSN enables healthcare facilities to collect and use data about HAIs, adherence to clinical practices known to prevent HAIs, the incidence or prevalence of multidrug-resistant organisms within their organizations, trends and coverage of healthcare personnel safety and vaccination, and adverse events related to the transfusion of blood and blood products. The NHSN includes seven components: Patient Safety, Long-term Care Facility, Outpatient Dialysis, Healthcare Personnel Safety, Biovigilance, Outpatient Procedure, and Neonatal

The Patient Safety Component includes five modules that focus on events associated with medical devices, surgical procedures, antimicrobial agents used during healthcare, and multidrug-resistant organisms.