National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN)

• The National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) is a voluntary, secure, internet-based surveillance system that integrates patient and healthcare personnel safety surveillance systems managed by the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) at CDC.
• Enrollment in NHSN is open to all types of healthcare facilities in the United States, including acute care hospitals, long term acute care hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient dialysis centers, ambulatory surgery centers, and long term care facilities.
• NHSN makes use of recent advances in information technology. While maintaining data security, integrity, and confidentiality, NHSN has the capacity for healthcare facilities to share data in a timely manner between healthcare facilities (e.g., a multihospital system) or with other entities (e.g., public health agencies or quality improvement organizations).
• The HAI plan will use nationally known NHSN data to determine relevant baseline measurements. These will be appropriately adjusted by such factors as patient risk, facility size and other factors deemed reasonable by the HAI prevention steering committee.
• The IDPH HAI prevention plan to use NHSN data will allow Iowa healthcare facilities to share data in a timely manner between healthcare facilities (e.g., a multihospital system) or with other entities (e.g., public health agencies or internal quality improvement).