[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 199 (Monday, October 16, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60712-60713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-8673]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality


Request for Measures of Consumers' Health Information Delivery 
Experiences

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), DHHS.

ACTION: Notice of request for measures.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is 
soliciting the submission of instruments or items that measure how well 
health plans, hospitals, clinicians, and group practices address health 
literacy issues. Based on a literature review and an assessment of 
currently available questionnaires, AHRQ identified the need to develop 
a new health literacy module of the CAHPS[supreg] survey. The intent of 
the planned module is to examine patients' perspectives on how well 
health information is communicated to them by healthcare professionals 
in greater detail than before. The intent of the new module is to 
provide information to health plans, hospitals, clinicians, group 
practices, and other interested parties regarding quality of health 
information delivered to patients.
    Based on prior work, there are several functional areas that the 
planned instrument could address. These include the clarity and 
usability of provided health information related to: (a) Preventive 
services (e.g., risk and benefits of the service, explanation of 
screening results; (b) health problems/concerns (e.g., information on 
how to stay healthy or prevent illness); (c) treatment choices, 
instructions, or goals (e.g., pros and cons of each treatment option); 
and (d) medications (e.g., reason for taking medications, instructions 
on how to take medications, possible side effects). AHRQ is especially 
interested in measures of patients' assessments of written 
communications (e.g., instructions for self-care, health promotion 
materials), and the use and effectiveness of educational techniques to 
ensure patient's comprehension of health information (e.g., allowing 
time for questions, repeating information, using visual aids, employing 
health educators to review treatment plans and follow-up). AHRQ is also 
interested in measures that assess the quality of services supporting 
health information delivery such as language assistance (e.g., 
availability and timeliness of interpreter services, availability of 
patient education materials in other language), and administrative 
assistance (e.g., assistance in completing medical paperwork).

DATES: Please submit instruments or individual items and supporting 
information on or before November 15, 2006. AHRQ will not respond 
individually to submitters, but will consider all submitted instruments 
and publicly report the results of the review of the submissions in 
aggregate.

ADDRESSES: Submissions should include a brief cover letter, a copy of 
the instrument or items for consideration and supporting information as 
specified under the Submission Criteria below. Submissions may be in 
the form of a letter or e-mail, preferably with an electronic file as 
an e-mail attachment. Responses of this request should be submitted to: 
Anna Caponiti, Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, 
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 540 Gaither Road, 
Rockville, MD 20850, phone: (301) 427-

[[Page 60713]]

1402, fax: (301) 427-1341, e-mail: [email protected].
    To facilitate handling of submissions, please include full 
information about the instrument developer or contact; (a) Name, (b) 
title, (c) organization, (d) mailing address, (e) telephone number, (f) 
fax number, and (g) e-mail address. Also, please submit a copy of the 
instrument or items for consideration as well as evidence that they 
meet the criteria below. It would be appreciated if each citation of a 
peer-reviewed journal article pertaining to the instrument include the 
title of the article, author(s), publication year, journal name, 
volume, issue, and page numbers where article appears, but all of these 
details are not required. Submitters must also provide a statement of 
willingness to grant to AHRQ the right to use and authorize others to 
use submitted measures and their documentation as part of a 
CAHPS[supreg]-trademarked instrument. This CAHPS[supreg] instrument for 
patients' perspectives on the quality of health information will be 
made publicly available, free of charge. Electronic submissions are 
encouraged.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna Caponiti, at the address above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background Information

    The CAHPS[supreg] program was initiated in 1995 to develop a survey 
and report on consumers' perspectives on the quality of their health 
plans. Since that time, the CAHPS[supreg] program, in partnership with 
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and others, has 
expanded its scope and developed consumer surveys and reports regarding 
consumer perspectives on individual clinicians, group practices, in-
center hemodialysis services, nursing homes and hospitals. AHRQ 
determined that the CAHPS[supreg] teams should develop a survey to 
obtain the consumers' perspective on the quality of health information.
    The vision of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is to 
foster health care research that helps the American health care system 
provide access to high-quality, cost-effective services; be accountable 
and responsive to consumers and purchasers; and improve health status 
and quality of life. The CAHPS[supreg] program was developed as a 
result of AHRQ's vision. One of the components not examined in the 
current measurement set is an assessment of patients' perspectives on 
how well health plans, hospitals, clinicians, and group practices 
address health literacy issues.

Submission Criteria

    Instruments submitted should focus on patient perspectives on 
quality of health information provided by plans, hospitals, clinicians, 
and/or group practices.
    AHRQ is interested in measures that: (a) Assess patients' and their 
caregivers' experiences receiving health information and (b) 
demonstrate a high degree of reliability and validity. Accordingly, 
each submission should include, in addition to the name of the 
pertinent instrument, domains included, and the language(s) the 
instrument is available in, the following information: Evidence of 
cultural/cross group comparability, if any; instrument reliability 
(internal consistency, test-retest, etc.); validity (content, 
construct, criterion-related); response rates; methods and results of 
cognitive testing and field-testing and description of sampling 
strategies (including payer type); as well as data collection 
protocols, including such elements as mode of administration, use of 
advance letters, timing and frequencies of contacts. Evidence 
addressing these criteria should be demonstrated through submission of 
peer-reviewed journal article(s) or through the best evidence available 
at the time of submission.
    In addition, a list of where the instrument has been fielded should 
also be included in the submission. Submission of copies of existing 
report formats developed to disclose findings to consumers and 
providers is desirable, but not required. Additionally, information 
about existing database(s) for the instrument(s) submitted is helpful, 
but not required for submission.
    Submitters' willingness to grant to AHRQ the right to use and 
authorize others to use their instrument or item and accompanying 
explanatory material means that the CAHPS[supreg] trademark will be 
applied to a new instrument which will combine the best features of the 
submissions as well as any ideas that may develop from reviewing them, 
and also free access to this instrument, and free access to the 
instrument's supportive/administrative information will be ensured. 
AHRQ, in collaboration with CAHPS grantees, will evaluate all submitted 
instruments or items. As they construct the CAHPS instrument, they may 
select one or more either in whole or in part or modify the items prior 
to testing them. AHRQ will assume responsibility for the final 
instruments as well as any future modifications.
    The final instruments will bear the CAHPS[supreg] trademark and it 
will be made available without charge for use by all interested 
parties. Submitters will have relinquished ownership of any items that 
appear in the final instrument. However, item ownership will be 
protected during testing of the survey. As a matter of quality control, 
there will be warnings that the CAHPS[supreg] trademark or 
identification may not be used if any changes are made to the 
instrument or final measure set without review and permission of the 
agency.

    Dated: October 5, 2006.
Carolyn M. Clancy,
Director.
[FR Doc. 06-8673 Filed 10-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-M