[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 190 (Friday, October 1, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53396-53397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-25555]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources And Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Comment Request

    In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects (section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 
Title 44, United States Code, as amended by the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, Public Law 104-13), the Health Resources and Services 
Administration (HRSA) publishes periodic summaries of proposed projects 
being developed

[[Page 53397]]

for submission to OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. To 
request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of 
the data collection plans and draft instruments, call the HRSA Reports 
Clearance Officer on (301) 443-1891.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.

Proposed Project: Uniform Reporting System Client Demonstration 
Project (URS): NEW

    The Uniform Reporting System Client Demonstration Project (URS) was 
established in 1994 to collect information from several Title I and 
Title II grantees and their subcontracted service providers about their 
individual clients. Demographic information, service utilization, and 
health indicators of all clients receiving services at providers funded 
by the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act are 
collected twice each year. A unique identifier is used to protect the 
anonymity of the clients, and as a further safeguard, this unique 
identifier is encrypted before it is sent to HRSA.
    HRSA initiated the URS to demonstrate (1) the feasibility of 
collecting client level demographic and service data on HIV/AIDS 
infected/affected clients across a network of service providers and (2) 
the usefulness of these data for planning and evaluation purposes at 
both the local and national levels. Through this system, HRSA sought to 
overcome the limitations of the Annual Administrative Report (AAR), the 
national reporting system for the Ryan White CARE Act. The AAR collects 
data aggregated at the grantee level and has duplicated counts of 
clients. The number of clients reported in the AAR overestimates by 
approximately the true number of clients. In addition, AAR data are not 
tied to any clinical or service outcome information at the client 
level. The feasibility of collecting client data has been demonstrated. 
The usefulness of these data for planning and evaluation purposes at 
both the local and national level has become increasingly evident. A 
number of client level analyses that were not possible with the AAR 
have been undertaken.
    In addition to meeting the goal of accountability to Congress, 
clients, advocacy groups, and the general public, the URS supports 
critical efforts by HRSA, state and local grantees, and providers to 
assess the health outcomes and the service utilization patterns of the 
individuals at these sites who are infected or affected by HIV/AIDS and 
receive care at a provider funded by the Ryan White CARE Act.
    Outcome specific and treatment measures are collected in the data 
system; these will be asked only of medical providers. These data 
elements seek to document whether current standards of care as 
established by the Public Health Service are being adhered to at these 
Ryan White CARE Act facilities. The core set of data elements are 
largely unchanged from the AAR. Minor changes in the demographic data 
elements have been made as a result of meetings and input from the 
current URS grantees and their providers.
    The estimated response burden is as follows:

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                                                                            Responses                   Total
                   Medical records source                      Number of       per      Burden hour     burden
                                                              respondents   respondent                  hours
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Medical Providers...........................................       27,000            1            4      108,000
Case Managers, Mental Health, Substance Abuse Providers.....       32,000            1            1       32,000
Other Providers.............................................       35,000            1           .5       17,500
                                                             ---------------------------------------------------
      Total.................................................       94,000  ...........  ...........      157,500
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    Send comments to Susan G. Queen, Ph.D., HRSA Reports Clearance 
Officer, Room 14-33, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, 
MD 20857. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this 
notice.

    Dated: September 24, 1999.
Jane Harrison,
Director, Division of Policy Review and Coordination.
[FR Doc. 99-25555 Filed 9-30-99; 8:45 am]
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