What to know
- The NHSN website is under maintenance as we implement updates to ensure compliance with Executive Order 14168, titled "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government."
- CDA and CSV submissions will still be accepted under existing Implementation Guides (IGs). NHSN will adhere to the biological classifications of male or female in NHSN. New Implementation Guides (IGs) will be issued as soon as possible.
Summary
Website under maintenance:
The NHSN website is currently undergoing maintenance as we implement updates to ensure compliance with Executive Order 14168, titled "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government." We appreciate your patience and understanding during this process. Thank you for your support. For questions related to the NHSN website maintenance, contact the NHSN Help Desk at nhsn@cdc.gov with the subject line “Website Maintenance Question.”
Regarding CDA and CSV submissions to NHSN:
In response to Executive Order 14168, titled "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," effective immediately, when receiving data containing elements pertaining to an individual's sex, NHSN will adhere to the biological classifications of male or female. The required data field currently called "gender" will be relabeled in the NHSN application as "sex" and any data that does not conform to "male" or "female" values will be set to "missing." Any other "sex" categories, as well as all data fields regarding gender identity or related concepts, will be discarded by the NHSN application. Such information should not be included in submissions to NHSN; however, the presence of these data will not result in the rejection of a CDA or CSV submission.
NHSN will collaborate with HL7 to issue new guidance regarding all NHSN Implementation Guides (IGs) to align with the executive order. Further details and guidance will be provided as they become available.