As an example, the short-term acute care hospital PEPPER version Q1FY18 includes reportable data from Q2 FY 2015 (second quarter of the federal fiscal year 2015) through Q1 FY 2018 (first quarter of the federal fiscal year 2018). The federal fiscal year begins October 1 and ends September 30. The PEPPER version Q1 FY 2018 (named based upon the most recent time period in the report) summarizes data for hospital discharge dates (paid, inpatient claims) from January 1, 2015 (Q2 FY 2015), through December 31, 2017 (Q1 FY 2018). For subsequent releases of ST PEPPER, the oldest quarter from the previous release will roll off as the most recent quarter is added.
For other types of PEPPERs (LT, CAH, IPF, IRF, Hospice, SNF) which summarize three federal fiscal years, the reference to “Q4FY17” indicates that the most recent quarter of data included in the report is the fourth quarter of federal fiscal year 2017. The HHA and PHP PEPPERs summarize three calendar years (January 1 – December 31); the reference to “Q4CY17” indicates that the most recent quarter of data included in the report is the fourth quarter of calendar year 2017. For subsequent releases of the PEPPER, the oldest year of statistics rolls off as the new year is added.