Care centers must track and report flu vaccination information to the CDC this fall.

The reporting period for the new Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) measure “Influenza Vaccination Coverage among Healthcare Personnel” (HCP) begins Oct. 1.

SNFs must report data on this measure through the CDC National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) for the period Oct. 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023.

To meet the minimum data submission requirements, SNFs will enter a single influenza vaccination summary report by May 15, 2023. This same schedule will be followed in subsequent years. Since the SNF QRP is a pay-for-reporting program, SNFs will not be rewarded or penalized based on the rate of HCP vaccination but must submit 100 percent of the data needed to the CDC NHSN to calculate the measure.  

Measure Background

The measure reports on the percentage of HCP who receive an influenza vaccine (or have medical contraindications, declinations, or unknown status) any time from when it first becomes available through March 31 of the following year. Reporting is required for three categories of HCP who are physically present in the healthcare facility for at least one working day within the data collection period. Healthcare personnel includes:

• Employees of the SNF (or those who receive a direct paycheck from the reporting facility)
• Licensed independent practitioners affiliated with the facility but who are not directly employed by the facility
• Adult students/trainees and volunteers, regardless of clinical responsibility or patient contact.

SNFs are not required (but have the option) to report the influenza vaccination status of other contract personnel.

How to Report

SNFs will complete two forms using the HCP influenza data reporting module in the NHSN Healthcare Personnel Safety (HPS) Component. The first form (CDC 57.203) indicates the type of data SNFs plan on reporting to the NSHN by selecting the “Influenza Vaccination Summary” option under “Healthcare Personnel Vaccination Module” to create a reporting plan. The second form (CDC 57.214) reports the number of HCP who have worked at the healthcare facility for at least one day between Oct. 1 and March 31 (denominator) and the number of HCP who fall into each numerator category. 

Resources Available to Learn More

The CDC plans to offer training in the fall of 2022 to review annual influenza vaccination reporting and answer provider questions.

• For more data collection and submission details, refer to the HCP Influenza Vaccination Summary Reporting FAQs.
• To view provider training specific to long-term care facilities, review the NHSN Training Slides.
• Resources and training materials for annual influenza surveillance are available at CDC NHSN Healthcare Personnel (HCP) Flu Vaccination.
• SNFs may view checklists to ensure the annual influenza vaccination data are reported accurately.
• CMS sends reminders of the data submission deadlines via the CMS listserv announcements. To receive these announcements, subscribe to the listserv on the CMS Email Updates.