In a revised Quality & Safety Special Alert Memo dated September 10, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that certain parts of Nursing Home Care Compare will be updated on September 24.

Previously, CMS had announced a temporary pause on Care Compare updates to allow to verification of the accuracy and reliability of information following the transition of the long-term care survey process infrastructure to iQIES. This pause was scheduled to hold until the next quarterly refresh on October 29.

However, CMS now advises that Nursing Home Care Compare will be updated in September to reflect findings of payroll-based journal (PBJ) and schizophrenia audits. This means that providers who have “failed” a PBJ audit or schizophrenia audit will see penalties applied in September, rather than waiting until the October quarterly refresh. Special Focus Facility status will also be updated in September.

All other information, including health inspection star ratings, will continue to be based on the July quarterly refresh.