With just over two months until the Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) reporting deadline, skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) are starting to feel the pressure. Beginning July 1, 2016, SNFs must electronically submit PBJ files to CMS, including direct care staffing information (for both agency and contract staff) based on payroll and other auditable data.
As we’ve pointed out before, many facilities are worried about the additional burden to their workloads, as well as the possibility of penalties if the process is handled incorrectly. Many SimpleLTC customers have asked if we would develop a solution for PBJ and we’re excited to say the answer is yes.
Easily submit PBJ files to CMS
We’re pleased to announce that we are adding the ability to manage PBJ submission, tracking and reporting within our existing SimpleMDS™ product, which will be renamed as SimpleConnect™.SimpleConnect provides a simple, affordable way to manage all your PBJ file submission, tracking and reporting needs. With SimpleConnect, you can:
- Easily submit PBJ files to CMS.
You complete the PBJ file and we take it from there. PBJ files are submitted to CMS on your behalf and all information is archived for future auditing or tracking. - Automatically confirm proper XML format.
Once your payroll/staffing system creates the PBJ file, we automatically check it to ensure the XML format will meet CMS requirements. - Retrieve PBJ final validations and reports.
All your PBJ-related reports and final validations are retrieved for you and displayed in one simple location. - Track all your data in a simple dashboard.
Visual indicators let you easily track transmission status, warnings and reports in one simple place. - Manage multiple facilities.
Easily monitor information across an entire organization and drill down to the facility level as needed.
Trusted and affordable CMS compliance
More than 2,200 SNFs already trust SimpleConnect to manage the cumbersome process of MDS batch transmission and tracking. The addition of the new PBJ functionality makes it a complete CMS file submission and reporting solution.SimpleConnect is designed to be fast, easy to use and affordable for any facility. For more information and a free demo of SimpleConnect, visit www.simpleltc.com/pbj.
10 Comments on “Manage PBJ file submission and reporting, simply and affordably”
Will your system be able to convert our payroll report into and XML format?
Presently our facilities use WASP, ADP and UAttend
Hi Alice — Our system doesn’t create or convert the PBJ file; it automates the manual process of submitting final PBJ files to CMS, then retrieves your final validations and reports for you. It also checks the validity of the XML encoding once your system has completed the file. In other words, we take care of the entire process after the PBJ file has been completed by your payroll/staffing system. There are other vendors who do what you’re looking for. Our partner, Prime Care, can help with gathering data and converting to XML. You can find more info here. Thanks!
I’m finding through our testing with submitting files directly through CMS that if there is an error, the validation report is not helpful at all in pinpointing which employee is in error. Will this system help identify which employee/s are in error or would we still be limited to the reporting that is provided by CMS?
Hi Sarah — Our system currently is designed to automate the transmission of the PBJ file and retrieval of reports. We plan to add additional analytics to the process in the future, but as of its initial release we will pull back only the final validations and reports that CMS creates based on your PBJ data.
Will the census data still need to be added manually through the CMS site?
Hi Sarah — Our system handles the transmitting of your final PBJ file to CMS (once it is created at your facility), then retrieves your final validations and reports for you. It also checks the validity of the XML formatting in the PBJ file. This assumes that your payroll/timekeeping system or other system at your facility is pulling the information together for you and creating the XML file. So in this scenario, there are two steps to the process: (1) creating the XML file at the facility, and (2) transmitting the file to CMS/retrieving reports.
For various reasons, some facilities may not be able to use this process and would need to handle PBJ reporting manually. In this case, you would need to gather all your PBJ/census data manually, then enter the information at the CMS site and also retrieve all your reports there. Hope that helps! If you need more info, feel free to contact us.
What is the monthly fee for this added service.
Hi Alice – the PBJ functionality will be included as part of our SimpleConnect™ product. I will have someone email you to provide more detail.
What are the exact data elements needed to create the PBJ file (which will be converted to XML)
Hi Manni — you can find the details of the PBJ requirements and data elements on the CMS website. Scroll down to the bottom and look for the ‘Downloads’ section.