National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN)

What is NHSN?

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention's (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) is the nation’s most widely used healthcare-associated infection tracking system. NHSN provides facilities, states, regions, and the nation with data needed to identify problem areas, measure progress of prevention efforts, and ultimately eliminate healthcare-associated infections.

In addition, NHSN allows healthcare facilities to track blood safety errors and important healthcare process measures such as healthcare personnel influenza vaccine status and infection control adherence rates.

For calendar year 2020/payment year 2022 the ESRD Quality Incentive Program (QIP) requires facilities that treat hemodialysis patients in-center to report 12 months of data in NHSN. At least one (recommendation is two) staff member at each facility must be trained and knowledgeable of how to report dialysis event data to NHSN.

NHSN Registration

• NHSN Enrollment

Training Materials & Documents

• Dialysis Component Training

• Dialysis Event Surveillance Protocol

• CDC NHSN Dialysis Enrollment Guide

• NHSN: How to Report Monthly Influenza Vaccination Data for Dialysis Facilities

Access NHSN

• NHSN Log-In

• Secure Access Management Services (SAMS) card

NHSN Contact Information

• If you are using a digital certificate to log in to NHSN, please contact PHIN Tech at 1-800-532-9929 or phintech@cdc.gov

• If you are using a SAMS grid card to access NHSN, please contact SAMS at 1-877-681-2901 or samshelp@cdc.gov

• Contact nhsn@cdc.gov for more information

• Contact Amanda Morelli at the Network office at amorelli@qualityinsights.org or 804-320-0004, Ext. 2709