CMS Quality Safety & Oversight Memorandum
MEMO NUMBER: 19-02-NH
PUBLISHED: November 30, 2018
CMS LISTING: Quality, Safety and Oversight Letter 19-02-NH
In QSO memo 19-02-NH from November 30, 2018 – CMS introduced the use of PBJ data in state surveys, as well as made some updates to the PBJ Policy Manual.
PBJ Reports to States
CMS will begin informing state survey agencies of facilities with potential staffing issues. Specifically, issues are considered facilities with:
- significantly low nurse staffing levels on weekends
- facilities with several days in a quarter without an RN onsite
In addition, CMS required that states conduct at least fifty percent of the required off hours surveys on weekends using the list of facilities provided by CMS.
Policy Manual Updates
CMS updated the PBJ policy manual to further refine the data its collecting, with additional clarification regarding:
- deducting time for meal breaks
- allocating time for universal care workers
MDS Census Calculations
CMS has created two reports for providers to help ensure data is submitted accurately and in a timely manner. These reports use the same methodology CMS uses to calculate each facility’s census, which is then used to calculate the number of staff hours per resident per day posted on the Nursing Home Compare website