Long-term care facilities required to post nursing staff data

Healthcare Financial Management, Dec, 2005

Effective Dec. 27, skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities will be required to follow new data collection, posting, and recordkeeping requirements, as specified in the Medicare, Medicaid, and State Children's Health Insurance Program Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000, according to a final rule published in the Oct. 28 Federal Register. Under the final rule, the facilities must display daily the number of licensed and unlicensed nursing staff providing direct care to residents, and the actual hours worked by staff during each shift. Daily facility resident census information also must be posted.

The final rule is part of broader communication outreach efforts developed under the Nursing Home Quality Initiative to provide beneficiaries, their families, and the public with access to current information that can help them make informed decisions about nursing home care options, CMS explains. [home]

For links to vital resources on Medicare payments for SNFs, go to HFMA's Internet Guide to Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility PPS at www.hfma.org/ resource/locus_areas/medicare/authoritative_sources/snfpps.htm.