[The hospital infection surveillance system (KISS)]

According to §23 of the prevention of infections act (Infektionsschutzgesetzes, IfSG), the directors of hospitals and facilities for ambulant operations are obliged to continuously record and evaluate nosocomial infections. In this way it is intended that quality management with regard to the prevention of nosocomial infections should be improved. The national reference centre for the surveillance of nosocomial infections (NRC) has developed a computer and internet-assisted system and made it available: the hospital infection surveillance system (KISS). With this method at hand it is now possible to conduct a uniform surveillance of nosocomial infections that takes the most important influencing and risk factors into consideration and thus permits orienting comparisons. Participation in the KISS is possible free of charge.