Skip to content
FonteumThe Graph

The capability layer

APIREST + bulk accessMCP serverCallable by AI agentsFHIR R4 APIBulk exportAttestation & audit packReconciliationSource-vs-source diffsEntity graphSnapshotsPoint-in-time, bitemporal

By use case

Exclusion & sanctions screeningCredentialing & provider-data enrichmentAudit evidence & defensible programsProvider data for AI / RAGM&A & network diligence

By buyer

Compliance & riskDevelopers & AI teams

The differentiator

Coverage & sourcesThe catalogFreshnessMethodologyCare CompareFacility qualityBrowse all datasets →
Research

The dev on-ramp

DocsAPI referenceMCPQuickstartStatusChangelogSDKs & integrations
Pricing
Sign inTry the FHIR sandbox →Request access →

Platform

APIMCP serverFHIR R4 APIBulk exportAttestation & audit packReconciliationEntity graphSnapshots

Solutions

Exclusion & sanctions screeningCredentialing & provider-data enrichmentAudit evidence & defensible programsProvider data for AI / RAGM&A & network diligenceCompliance & riskDevelopers & AI teams

Data

Coverage & sourcesFreshnessMethodologyCare CompareBrowse all datasets →
Research

Developers

DocsAPI referenceMCPQuickstartStatusChangelogSDKs & integrations
Pricing
Sign inTry the FHIR sandbox →Request access →
  1. Fonteum
  2. /
  3. Glossary
  4. /
  5. PBJ
Healthcare Data GlossaryData Standards

PBJ: Definition and Healthcare Context

Full name: Payroll-Based Journal

The Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) is a CMS system requiring nursing homes and long-term care facilities to submit direct care staffing data electronically on a quarterly basis. Mandated under the Affordable Care Act and the SNF Staffing Final Rule, PBJ data includes actual hours worked by nursing staff by day, job type, and hire type (employee vs. contract staff). CMS uses PBJ data to calculate the Staffing Rating component of nursing home star ratings on Care Compare. PBJ data is publicly available and widely used in nursing home staffing research.

Last updated: 2026-06-17Reviewed by: Dr. Jennifer Montecillo, MD — Gullas College of Medicine, 2019. Non-practicing medical reviewer.

How it’s used

  • CMS Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ): Fonteum uses PBJ data to populate the staffing domain of nursing home research studies and to contextualize star-rating staffing components.
  • CMS Care Compare (nursing homes): the Staffing domain of the nursing home five-star rating is calculated entirely from PBJ-submitted payroll data.

Frequently asked questions

What is PBJ?
PBJ (Payroll-Based Journal) is the CMS system that requires nursing homes to submit quarterly electronic staffing data — actual daily hours by staff type — for use in star rating calculations.
How is PBJ data used in star ratings?
CMS uses PBJ-submitted staffing hours to calculate the RN hours-per-resident-day and total nurse staffing hours metrics that determine a nursing home's Staffing domain star rating.
Is PBJ data public?
Yes. CMS publishes PBJ daily staffing data quarterly as a public-use file at data.cms.gov.

Related terms

  • SNF
  • CMS Care Compare
  • CMS Star Rating
  • HCRIS
  • CMS
  • Medicare

Authoritative sources

  • CMS: PBJ overview↗
  • CMS PBJ data download↗
← All glossary terms

The substrate, by the numbers

44federal source familiesDistinct CMS, OIG, HRSA, FDA and peer datasets
35dataset pagesCitable, downloadable /data catalog pages
65reproducible studiesEach shipping the SQL behind its figures

Built on the authoritative federal record

The primary sources, named on every page.

These are the federal agencies whose public datasets Fonteum ingests and attributes — the issuing authorities, not customers or partners. Every figure on the site links back to one of them.

  • CMS
  • HHS-OIG
  • HRSA
  • FDA
  • NLM
  • NUCC
  • Census
  • BLS
  • BEA

See the full source registry, with license and refresh cadence for each →

Reproducible by design

Every figure traces to its federal source.

14-tuple provenance

Every rendered fact ties to a source URL, dataset ID, snapshot date, row key, and SHA-256 — the full chain-of-custody record.

Reproducible SQL

Each study ships the exact query behind its figures, run against the cited federal snapshot. Re-run it yourself.

Daily reconciliation

Published counts are reconciled against the upstream federal datasets on a daily cadence, with drift logged.

Named medical review

Reviewed by Jennifer Montecillo, MD, medical reviewer. Non-practicing medical reviewer.

Read the full provenance and attestation methodology →

Two doors

Use the free API and open data

Query providers, facilities, sanctions, and quality scores — each field carrying its federal source. Self-serve, no call to start.

Explore the API →Browse the data catalog →

Talk to us

Managed pilots, enterprise terms, and audit-ready, signed attestation packages for compliance, risk, and research teams.

Talk to us →
Fonteum
Platform
Platform overviewAPIMCP serverFHIR R4 APIBulk exportAttestation & audit packReconciliationEntity graphSnapshots
Solutions
All solutionsExclusion & sanctions screeningCredentialing & enrichmentAudit evidenceProvider data for AI / RAGM&A & network diligenceCompliance & riskDevelopers & AI teams
Data & sources
Coverage & sourcesBrowse all datasetsFreshnessMethodologyCare CompareSanctionsOwnershipStaffingDeficienciesSpecial Focus Facilities
Developers
Developer hubDocsAPI referenceQuickstartStatusChangelogSDKs & integrationsWebhooks
Research
Research hubGlossaryComparisonsCitationsWhy Fonteum
Company
AboutPressCustomersPricingContactEditorial policyCorrections
Trust & legal
TrustQualitySecurityPrivacy policyTerms of serviceMedical disclaimer

Reviewed by Jennifer Montecillo, MD, medical reviewer. Non-practicing medical reviewer.

© 2026 Fonteum LLC. All rights reserved.

·hello@fonteum.com

The U.S. healthcare graph AI can cite — every fact carries its source.

Request access→