Emerging Trends in Public Health
Sharing Session - 30 Minutes
Lauren Wattenmaker, MPH
Team Lead, NHSN Policy & Operations
CDC Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion
Elizabeth Mothershed, MS
Health Scientist, State Strategy and Evaluation team
CDC Division of healthcare quality promotion
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Muzna Mirza, MD, MS
Medical Officer, Surveillance Branch
CDC Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion
In late 2017, the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) updated the Agreement to Participate and Consent, completed by healthcare facilities, and expanded eligibility for Data Use Agreements (DUAs), completed by health departments. These legal documents govern NHSN data access. Among the most important changes are new provisions that enable Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to sign DUAs with local and territorial health departments, extending their access to NHSN data via a mechanism that was introduced for state health departments in 2011. New data access provisions in the Agreement to Participate and Consent also enable CDC to provide NHSN data to state, local, and territorial health departments that support healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention activities and outbreak investigations and responses. CDC can provide these additional data to requesting health departments regardless of their existing access to NHSN data.
Most importantly, CDC can provide health departments with data on antimicrobial use and resistance reported by healthcare facilities in their jurisdictions. Since extending eligibility of DUAs to local health departments (LHDs) in early 2018, NHSN has initiated DUAs with six LHDs who are now accessing NHSN data for surveillance and prevention purposes. These new provisions are designed to extend NHSN data access to new public health users and uses, which broadens NHSN’s capacity and services, enables analysis and action at all geographic levels, and enhances the system’s value for HAI prevention and response.