Patient Safety Component

The Patient Safety Component of NHSN includes surveillance methods to identify and track device-associated infections, procedure-associated infections, medication–associated issues that impact infection rates or treatment, multidrug-resistant organism and Clostridium difficile incidence and prevalence, as well as administration of influenza vaccine to high-risk inpatient populations before and during the influenza season. Within the Patient Safety Component, like-types of surveillance are grouped into modules. Instructions and standardized surveillance methods and definitions for each module are provided in specialized protocols.

Modules may be used singly or simultaneously and each module has its own minimum time-period for required participation (see individual modules). Regardless of the combination of modules a facility chooses to participate in, a total of 6 months of data must be reported annually to NHSN for continued participation. The organizational structure of NHSN is outlined below: