In a nutshell, PBJ reporting involves tracking staff data in long-term care facilities and nursing homes. This is important because it helps these facilities to keep tabs on performance improvement and allows customers to gauge overall staff quality before committing.
Also, according to Section 6106 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), PBJ reporting on direct care staff is mandatory. The goal is to ensure as much transparency as possible. Therefore, facilities must ensure they submit highly accurate data. Failure to do so might incur penalties.
Errors Can Impact Nursing Home Compare Ratings
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has found the number of a facility’s nursing staff to be a reliable measure of quality. The more RN staff available, the better the quality of patient care.
Therefore, staffing is one of the top factors used to determine a facility’s rating on Nursing Home Compare – a website used by patients and their loved ones to decide which facility is best for them. As such, if a facility submits PBJ reports that contain faulty staffing hours and census data, their star ratings can be badly impacted.
For instance, a few years back, over 1,000 facilities found themselves with a one-star rating due to insufficient staffing coverage. While some cases were legitimate issues, others were simply the result of failure to report accurate payroll data. All skilled nursing facilities should learn a valuable lesson from this and ensure they submit complete and accurate PBJ reports to increase their chances of getting the best staff rating. This keeps them on the safe side even when the CMS comes knocking for inspections.
Errors Can Also Attract Penalties From the CMS
Facilities that don’t comply with CMS requirements for Payroll-based journal reporting can also receive fines. However, monetary penalties can be avoided if the facility shows a willingness to correct any discrepancies quickly and to prevent future errors in their PBJ reports. Typically, healthcare facilities can make compliance easier by seeking help from payroll experts.
How to Avoid PBJ Reporting Errors
As you can see, avoiding Payroll-based journal reporting errors is essential. It ensures your facility can maintain the best ratings while also avoiding monetary and legal penalties. The best way to prevent mistakes is to partner with a provider who has the right technology to help you track staffing hours accurately.
For instance, SNF Payroll & HR offers a cloud-based HR management software that takes the hassle out of tracking employee data for hours worked. Not only does this improve the quality and accuracy of your PBJ reports, but the results can also be used to improve the overall performance of your healthcare business.
