[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 15, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 45821]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-15941]



[[Page 45821]]

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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, Pub. L. 104-13), the Health Resources and Services 
Administration (HRSA) will publish periodic summaries of proposed 
projects being developed for submission to the Office of Management and 
Budget (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, call the HRSA Reports Clearance Officer on (301) 443-
1129.
    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: Data Collection Tool for Rural Health Community-Based 
Grant Programs: (New)

    The mission of the Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) is to 
sustain and improve access to quality care services for rural 
communities. In its authorizing language (Sec. 711 [42 U.S.C. 912]), 
Congress charged ORHP with ``administering grants, cooperative 
agreements, and contracts to provide technical assistance and other 
activities as necessary to support activities related to improving 
health care in rural areas.'' In 1991, the Health Service Outreach 
Grants were first appropriated under the authority of section 301 of 
the Public Health Service (PHS) Act. In 1996, the Health Centers 
Consolidation Act of 1996 added the section 330A Rural Health Outreach 
Grant Program to the PHS Act. In 2002, this was amended and authorized 
again in the PHS Act, section 330A, as the Rural Health Care Services 
Outreach, Rural Health Network Development, and Small Health Care 
Provider Quality Improvement Grant Programs. Five rural health grant 
programs are currently operating under this authority: (1) The Rural 
Health Care Services Outreach Grant Program (Outreach), (2) the Rural 
Health Network Development Program (Network Development), (3) the Small 
Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Grant Program (Quality), (4) 
the Delta States Rural Development Network Grant Program (Delta), and 
(5) the Network Development Planning Grant Program (Network Planning). 
These grants are to provide expanded delivery of health care services 
in rural areas, for the planning and implementation of integrated 
health care networks in rural areas, and for the planning and 
implementation of small health care provider quality improvement 
activities. In general, the grants may be used to expand access, 
coordinate, and improve the quality of essential health care services, 
and enhance the delivery of health care in rural areas.
    For these programs, program performance measures were drafted to 
provide data useful to the programs and to enable HRSA to provide 
aggregate program data required by Congress under the Government 
Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993. These measures cover the 
principal topic areas of interest to ORHP, including: (a) Access to 
care, (b) the underinsured and uninsured, (c) workforce recruitment and 
retention, (d) sustainability, (e) health information technology, (f) 
network development, and (g) health-related clinical measures. Several 
measures will be used for all five programs. All measures will speak to 
the Office's progress toward meeting the goals set forth in its 
strategic plan.
    The annual burden estimate for this proposed collection is as 
follows:

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                                     Number of     Frequency of        Total         Hours per      Total hour
          Grant program             respondents      responses       responses       response         burden
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Rural Health Outreach Grant                  121               1             121            1.25          151.25
 Program........................
Rural Health Network Development              33               1              33           13             429
Small Health Care Provider                    15               1              15            1              15
 Quality Improvement Grant
 Program........................
Delta States Rural Development                12               1              12            1.25           15
 Network Grant Program..........
Network Development Planning                  10               1              10            4              40
 Grant Program..................
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    Total.......................             191  ..............             191  ..............          650.25
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    Send comments to Susan G. Queen, Ph.D., HRSA Reports Clearance 
Officer, Room 10-33 Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, 
Maryland 20857. Written comments should be received within 60 days of 
this notice.

    Dated: August 7, 2007.
Alexandra Huttinger,
Acting Director, Division of Policy Review and Coordination.
 [FR Doc. E7-15941 Filed 8-14-07; 8:45 am]
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