Pivotal hearing on ICD-10 implementation today: Time to join 'the rest of the world'

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will begin posting public use files of providers’ Payroll Based Journaling data on Nov. 1, the agency said in a memo posted Monday.

The first public use file to go live will cover data submitted by nursing homes for quarters 1 and 2 in calendar year 2017, which were due on May 15 and Aug. 14. The file will include the total number of hours submitted for jobs in the nursing services job categories, such as registered nurses and nurse aides, for every day of the quarter. Providers’ census for each day in the quarter will be included in the data.

Posting the staffing information will “ensure transparency of the data submitted” and allow for viewing by providers, stakeholders and the general public, CMS said. The data will be available at https://data.cms.gov.

CMS’ memo also stated that the agency will continue to post indicators on Nursing Home Compare to show whether providers have submitted their staffing data. Those indicators may undergo an update to “encourage more complete and accurate submissions,” the memo reads.

CMS also plans to replace the staffing measures used in the Five-Star rating system and the Nursing Home Compare with PBJ data sometime in 2018, the memo states.

Click here to read the full memo from CMS, which also includes information on changing employee identifiers and PBJ resident census.