Requirements for implementation of the Payroll-Based Staffing Data Collection were included in the August 4th Final Rule, Medicare Program: Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities for FY 2016, SNF Value-Based Purchasing Program, SNF Quality Reporting Program, and Staffing Data Collection. issued by CMS. Effective July 1, 2016, nursing homes must submit direct care staffing information [facility and agency] including:

Electronic submission, in uniform format, will be required no less frequently than quarterly. During initial implementation of electronic submission, CMS will continue to require use of forms 671 and 672. Facilities wanting to test their electronic submission methods prior to the effective date can voluntarily submit data beginning in October of 2015. The data collected during the voluntary submission period will not be used in the calculation of quality measures. Be sure to check out the draft Payroll Based Journal (PBJ) Manual. PBJ Training Modules for an introduction to the PBJ system and step by step registration instruction are available on QTSO e-University [select the PBJ option]. PBJ Training Modules for the CASPER Reporting and PBJ systems will be available 9/25/15, on QTSO eUniversity [select the PBJ option]. The CASPER Reporting and PBJ systems will be available Oct. 1, 2015. A user will be able to submit XML files or manually enter staffing and census data for work performed on or after Oct. 1, 2015: To register for voluntary submission, facilities will need to take the following steps: