Beginning with flu season 2022/2023, which began on October 1, nursing home providers will now report on a new quality measure in the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP). Influenza Vaccination Coverage among Healthcare Personnel was finalized in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 SNF Prospective Payment System (PPS) final rule. Specifications of the measure require nursing homes to report flu vaccination coverage for staff who work at least one day during the flu season. Flu season is identified as October 1 – March 31 and providers must make at least one report through the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) system by May 15.

While nursing homes will not need to complete the Monthly Reporting Plan that was previously required for quality reporting program measures reported through NHSN, this measure will require nursing homes to report through the Healthcare Personnel Safety (HPS) component of NHSN, rather than the Long-Term Care Facility (LTCF) component through which all COVID-19 data is currently reported. Flu vaccination data that is not reported directly in the HPS component will not be transferred to the SNF QRP and will not satisfy reporting requirements. In order to report in the HPS component, the person designated in NHSN as the Facility Administrator will need to activate the component.

More information on reporting this data, including how to activate the HPS component, is available in this reference guide from NHSN. Additionally, NHSN will replay a webinar on flu vaccination reporting on October 19. Register for this webinar here.