Reminder: Join The Joint Commission’s NHSN Group by July 1
Joining the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) group is required for acute care hospitals with ORYX® requirements that are also required to participate in NHSN for a CMS program, including Large and Small Acute Care Hospitals. If your organization is required to participate and has not already joined the group, please do so by July 1.
Exceptions to the requirement to join the group
Joining the NHSN group is optional for hospitals that are not required to participate in NHSN for a CMS program, including:
- Critical Access Hospitals (CAH)
- Military Treatment Facilities
- Veterans Administration Hospitals
- Free-standing Children’s Hospitals
- Indian Health/Tribal Hospitals
In addition, the NHSN group joining requirement does not apply to entities that are exempt from ORYX requirements, including:
- Freestanding Psychiatric Hospitals Long Term Acute Care Hospitals (LTACHs)
- Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs)
- Healthcare organizations in PPS-Exempt-Cancer Hospital Quality Reporting (PCHQR) Program
How to join The Joint Commission NHSN group
The NHSN Facility Administrator is responsible for joining the group through the NHSN platform and accepting the template of rights.
To join The Joint Commission’s NHSN Group, the group ID and joining password will be entered in the NHSN application. Each facility with a unique NHSN OrgID must complete the steps to join the group. The facility must accept the Confer Rights Template to share data with the group and complete the joining process. The Instructions to Join The Joint Commission NHSN Group document was sent via email to identified NHSN facility administrators and is available on Joint Commission Connect®; under the Important Updates section.
Access the instructions provided by the CDC in the NHSN training document “Joining a Group and Accepting the Confer Rights Template”.
Additional information regarding the NHSN Group for The Joint Commission is available via the ORYX FAQs or by pasting the following link into your web browser: https://jointcommission-ddsp.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/DCS/pages/143720449