“In plan” surveillance is surveillance which a facility has indicated in their NHSN Monthly Reporting Plan (MRP) will be performed.  By including the data in the NHSN MRP, the facility is stating that the NHSN surveillance protocol(s) will be used, in its entirety, for that particular event.  Only in-plan data are submitted to CMS in accordance with CMS’s Quality Reporting Programs. Only data that are entered into NHSN “in-plan” are included in NHSN annual reports or other NHSN publications.