National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN)
Infection Control Topics
About NHSN Enrollment
- Where do I obtain the initial registration form?
- Are we able to access and enter this enrollment process currently?
- Can we have more than one computer in a facility access the NHSN?
- Can more than one person be designated as an NHSN Facility Administrator?
- What is the difference between an NHSN Facility Admininstrator and an NHSN user with administrative rights?
- Should an NHSN Administrator enter data as an administrator or create a separate user account for data entry?
- I am in the process of enrolling my facility and I have not received a required email. What do I do?
- What is the limit on the number of people designated as facility administrators and patient safety contacts?
- What is the password to sign up for the digital certificate?
- Do we share certificates or would they be separate dependent on the computer?
- Can an ICP enter data for 2 separate hospitals, does she/he have to be signed up as a user for each facility?
- I will be using my PC at work and also a laptop at home.
Do I need to do anything special when enrolling?
Where do I obtain the initial registration form?
The NHSN Registration form can be accessed at the following website: www.ncid.cdc.gov/RegistrationForm/admin.htm
Are we able to access and enter this enrollment process currently?
Yes. NHSN open enrollment began on June 4, 2007 for all hospitals and outpatient hemodiaylsis centers. If your healthcare facility is one of the following: long-term acute care hospital, surgical hospital, nursing home, extended care facility, ambulatory surgical center, or home care, enrollment is currently unavailable. Please check back in October.
Can we have more than one computer in a facility access the NHSN?
Yes, you can have as many different computers as you need for accessing the NHSN. Each user must apply for and install a digital certificate onto the computer(s) they will use. If more than one computer is used by an individual to access NHSN, that person should install a copy of their digital certificate onto the other computers. Refer to the NHSN Facility Administrator Enrollment Guide (PDF 1.23MB/29 pages) for instructions about how to copy and install your digital certificate onto additional computers.
Can more than one person be designated as an NHSN Facility Administrator?
No. During enrollment, only one NHSN Facility Administrator is named. This individual enrolls the facility, adds users and then gives those users whichever rights are most appropriate, including administrative rights. Therefore, more than one person per facility can have administrative rights, but only one will be designated as the NHSN Facility Administrator.
The NHSN Facility Administrator is the only individual who enrolls the facility in NHSN. In addition the NHSN Facility Administrator is the only person who can reassign the role of Facility Administrator to another existing user.
The NHSN Facility Administrator is automatically set up to be a user. There is no need to create a separate “user” account for this person.
I am in the process of enrolling my facility and I have not received a required email. What do I do?
First, consult with your IT staff to be sure your email allows you to receive emails from nhsn@cdc.gov and PHINTech@cdc.gov . Second, contact the NHSN at nhsn@cdc.gov or 800-893-0485, option 1 and inform us as to where you are in the enrollment process so that we can provide further instruction
A facility can have only one NHSN Facility Administrator and one Primary Patient Safety Contact, and up to a total of 20 users. Users are added from the “Manage Users” section of the Navigation Bar by the NHSN Facility Administrator.
What is the password to sign up for the digital certificate?
During the enrollment process, CDC will send you an email that contains the password you’ll need to access the Digital ID Enrollment website.
Do we share certificates or would they be separate dependent on the computer?
A digital certificate is user-specific. Each person who uses NHSN will need to obtain her/his own unique digital certificate and install it onto one or more computers she/he will use to access NHSN. Multiple digital certificates can be installed on a single computer. Digital certificates should never be shared among users.
Yes, an individual can be a user at more than one facility. One digital certificate may be used to identify a single person accessing NHSN from different facilities as long as that person’s email address is the same at both facilities. The digital certificate is keyed to your email address.
You can enroll from your computer at work and obtain your digital certificate for the PC you work on there. After downloading the digital certificate, make a copy of it according to the instructions in the Facility Administrator Enrollment Guide (PDF 1.28MB/ 29 pages). You can then install the copy of your digital certificate onto your laptop at home.
Please note: Some of these publications are available for download only as *.pdf files. These files require Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to be viewed. Please review the information on downloading and using Acrobat Reader software.
Content source:
Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP)
National Center for Preparedness, Detection, and Control of Infectious Diseases
NHSN Resources
- Document Library
- Newsletters
- NHSN Report 2006
AJIC, PDF (285KB, 12 pages) - Training
- Contact Us
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA 30333, U.S.A
