Resource Library

NHSN Guides

• Determining Patient Days for Summary Data Collection: Observation vs. Inpatients [PDF - 45 KB]
• Purposes, Eligibility, Requirements and Confidentiality [PDF - 115 KB]
  NHSN's purpose and participation criteria.
• NHSN Facility Administrator Enrollment Guide [PDF - 496 KB] October 2011.
  
• NHSN Group Administrator Guide [PDF - 1.32MB]
  A step-by-step start-up guide for forming a group in NHSN.
  June 2009.
• NHSN Rules of Behavior for Facility/Group Administrators [PDF - 130 KB]
  August 2005.
• User Start-up Guide [PDF - 433 KB] October 2011
  A step-by-step start-up guide for NHSN Users who are not Facility Administrators or Group Administrators.
  
• Rules of Behavior for Users [PDF - 103 KB]
• NHSN Analysis Basics: Quick Tips Guide [PDF - 872 KB]
  September 2010.

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Guides for the Group Function

• Guide to Creating a Group in NHSN [PDF - 792 KB]
• Guide to Joining a Group in NHSN [PDF - 683 KB]
• Guide to Setting Up the Confer Rights Template – Patient Safety Component [PDF - 845 KB]

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NHSN Codes and Variables

• ICD9-CM Procedure Code Mapping to NHSN Operative Procedure Categories [XLS - 173 KB] October 2011
  Mapping of ICD-9-CM Procedure Codes to NHSN Operative Procedure categories.
• CDC Location Labels and Location Descriptions [PDF - 461 KB] June 2011
• MDRO/CDI Module LabID Event Specimen Source Codes [PDF - 461KB] Jan. 2010
• NHSN Organism List [XLS - 83 KB]
• Common Skin Contaminant List in NHSN as of June 2011 [XLS - 12 KB]
• SAS Macro to Compare the SIR to 1 [SAS - 3 KB]
  This macro can be used to calculate the SIR to 1 comparison, consistent with the methods used by NHSN.
• SAS Macro to Compare 2 SIRs [SAS - 2 KB]
  This macro can be used to perform a comparison between two SIRs, consistent with the methods used by NHSN.

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Patient Safety Component Resources

• Guide to the Patient Safety Component Alerts [PDF - 584 KB] October 2011
• Download the NHSN Manual: Patient Safety Protocol by section:
  • Table of Contents
• Importing Patient Safety Procedure Data
  NHSN allows the importation of operative procedures. The following documents provide information on the procedure import process, including the required file specifications.
  • How to Import Patient Safety Procedure Data [PDF - 0.8 MB] May 2011
  • Importing Patient Safety Procedure Data [PDF - 182 KB] February 2012
  • Sample Procedure Import File [CSV - 1 KB] February 2012
• Overview of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Surveillance through the NHSN [PDF - 97 KB]
  Summary of the main MRSA-related metrics that can be produced by facility data reported to the NHSN through its Multidrug-Resistant Organism and Clostridium difficile Infection (MDRO/CDI) Module and its Device-Associated Module that may be useful in this context.
• A Review of MDRO/CDI Module Improvements since Implementation in March 2009 [PDF - 37 KB]
• Secondary Bloodstream Infection (BSI) Guide [PDF - 76 KB] June 2011
• Guide to the Patient Safety Data Quality Output Options [PDF - 1.22 MB] June 2011
• Guide to Analyzing C. difficile Custom Events [PDF - 199 KB]
• Patient Safety Variable List [PDF - 1.22 MB] October 2011
  Reference list of NHSN variable names and labels used in analysis for the Patient Safety Component.
• CMS Reporting
  • Helpful Tips for CLABSI Reporting for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program (CMS Reporting Program) [PDF - 277 KB]
  • Using the “SIR - CLAB Data for CMS IPPS” Output Option [PDF 620 KB] November 2011.
• Operational Guidance for Acute Care Hospitals
  • Operational Guidance for Acute Care Hospitals to Report Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection (CLABSI) Data to CDC’s NHSN for the Purpose of Fulfilling CMS’s Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Requirements [PDF - 154 KB] Dec. 2011
  • Operational Guidance for Acute Care Hospitals to Report Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI) Data to CDC’s NHSN for the Purpose of Fulfilling CMS’s Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Requirements [PDF - 153 KB] Dec. 2011
  • Operational Guidance for Reporting Surgical Site Infection Data to CDC’s NHSN for the Purpose of Fulfilling CMS’s Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program Requirements [PDF - 177 KB] Dec. 2011

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Healthcare Personnel Safety Component Resources

• Download the NHSN Manual: Healthcare Personnel Safety Component by section:
  • Table of Contents
• Healthcare Personnel Safety Component Protocol [PDF - 351 KB]
  Guidelines and procedures monitored in the Healthcare Personnel Safety Component includes instructions for completing data collection forms.
  August 2009.
• Healthcare Personnel Safety Variable List [PDF - 379 KB] October 2011
  Reference list of NHSN variable names and labels used in analysis for the Healthcare Personnel Safety Component.

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Biovigilance Component Resources

• Download the NHSN Manual: Biovigilance Component Protocol:
  • Table of Contents
• Biovigilance Variable List [PDF - 522 KB] October 2011
  Reference list of NHSN variable names and labels used in analysis for the Biovigilance Component.

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HIPAA

• HIPAA Privacy Rule and Public Health
  The new regulations provide protection for the privacy of certain individually identifiable health data, referred to as protected health information (PHI).
  MMWR April 11, 2003 / 52;1-12
• The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule [PDF - 87 KB]
  Summary: The Privacy Rule expressly permits PHI to be shared for public health purposes without individual authorization.

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FAQs

• About NHSN
• About the New NHSN Agreement
• About CMS Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program
• About Dialysis Event Reporting
• About NHSN and CMS ESRD QIP Rule
• About NHSN Enrollment
• About NHSN reporting with CDA – General and dialysis event reporting [PDF - 181 KB] December 2011.
• About NHSN Security
• About Digital Certificates
• About NHSN Protocols
• About HIPAA Privacy Rule
  HIPAA Privacy Rule: Provisions relevant to public health practice.
• About NHSN HPS Component-Influenza Modules

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