Are You Ready?
In April 2018, CMS will begin using the PBJ data to calculate staffing measures which will be posted on Nursing Home Compare and used in the Five Star Quality System. Staffing measures and staffing star ratings will be calculated based on the data for the 2017 Calendar Quarter 4 that was submitted prior to the February 14, 2018 deadline. Nursing homes whose data identifies significant inaccuracies between the hours reported and the hours verified, or facilities who fail to submit any data by the required deadline will be presumed to have low levels of staff. This will result in a one-star rating in the staffing domain which will lower their overall (composite) star rating by one star for a quarter.
Facility Census Data
Facility census data will be determined from submitted MDS assessments each quarter. The admission and discharge MDS must be transmitted and accepted into the QIES ASAP system for census calculation. Each facility’s staffing measure, reported as hours per resident per day (HPRPD), is adjusted based on the expected level of staff needed based on the distribution of residents by Resource Utilization Groups. CMS will continue to calculate the staffing rating by combining a total nurse staffing rating (registered nurse (RN), licensed practical nurse, and nurse aide) with an RN rating, but remember, PBJ groups only RNs in the RN job categories and does not include LPNs with administrative duties. As a result, facilities may experience a decrease in RN hours under the new methodology.
Read the full CMS Memorandum here.
Ensuring Accurate Data Submission
- Exclude Time for Meal Breaks
- Each Employee Must hHave Their Own Unique Identifier (ID)
- Adhere to Minimum Data Set (MDS) Assessment Completion & Transmission Requirements
- Exclude Hours for Staff that Provide Care to Individuals in Non-certified Areas of a Larger Institution
- Respond Promptly to the Audit Contractor if Contacted for an Audit
Important Dates:
April, 2018 – PBJ data used to determine; Staffing levels Staffing domain ratings methodology will use RUG-IV system (replacing RUG-III)
May 15, 2018 – Submission deadline for data for 2018 Calendar Quarter 1
June 1, 2018 – No longer collecting facility staffing data through the CMS-671 form
July, 2018 – Implementation of issuance of one-star rating resulting from nursing homes reporting 7 or more days in a quarter with no RN hours