Submission into the NHSN Antimicrobial Use and Resistance Module – Obstacles, Solutions and Lessons Learned from State and National Perspectives

Key Objectives:

1. Provide a brief overview of the NHSN Antimicrobial Use and Resistance (AUR) Module.
2. Highlight the efforts of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to assist hospitals in implementing submission into the NHSN AUR Module.
3. Describe common obstacles, explore existing solutions and discuss lessons learned regarding hospitals’ NHSN AUR Module implementation challenges.

Brief Summary:
With the CDC publication of “Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States” in 2013, the White House announcement of the National Strategy for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (CARB) in 2014, and release of the National Action Plan for CARB in 2015, antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance have gained and maintained national attention. The importance of using standardized definitions and a single national surveillance system to collect these data has not been overlooked. The NHSN AUR Module has been listed in the National Action Plan as the system to track and report human antimicrobial use and resistance within healthcare settings. In addition, reporting into the NHSN AUR Module has been listed as one option for fulfilling Public Health Registry Reporting within Stage 3 of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) Meaningful Use program beginning in 2018. Furthermore, Missouri has become the first state in the nation to pass legislation requiring hospitals to submit data into the NHSN AUR Module following the ONC Meaningful Use Stage 3 timelines. The NHSN AUR Module currently has over 200 hospitals voluntarily reporting antimicrobial use and resistance data. These 200 hospitals have succeeded by using various EHR, infection control, and internal software systems along with motivated stewardship champions and assistance from both state and CDC resources. Many other hospitals are in various stages of implementation working through challenges and addressing obstacles of this new type of completely electronic reporting into NHSN as they arise. The NHSN and Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Teams have the unique experience of assisting hospitals in both mandated and voluntary reporting of AUR data but much is left to be learned. The purpose of this roundtable is to review some of the common obstacles, explore solutions and discuss key lessons learned by the NHSN and Missouri teams to share information and assist other state and local health departments supporting NHSN AUR implementation in their hospitals.