[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 130 (Thursday, July 7, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39876-39878]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-16920]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES



Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality




Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request



AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, HHS.



ACTION: Notice.



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SUMMARY: This notice announces the intention of the Agency for 

Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) approve the proposed information collection 

project: ``Health Literacy Item Set Supplemental to CAHPS Health Plan 

Survey--Pretest of Proposed Questions and Methodology.'' In accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, AHRQ invites the 

public to comment on this proposed information collection.



DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by August 8, 2011.



ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: Doris Lefkowitz, 

Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, by e-mail at 

[email protected].

    Copies of the proposed collection plans, data collection 

instruments, and specific details on the estimated burden can be 

obtained from the AHRQ Reports Clearance Officer.



FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports 

Clearance Officer, (301) 427-1477, or by e-mail at 

[email protected].



SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:



Proposed Project



Health Literacy Item Set Supplemental to CAHPS Health Plan Survey--

Pretest of Proposed Questions and Methodology



    The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems 

(CAHPS[supreg]) program is a multi-year initiative. AHRQ first launched 

the program in October 1995 in response to concerns about the lack of 

good information about the quality of health plans from the enrollees' 

perspective. Numerous public and private organizations collected 

information on enrollee and patient satisfaction, but the surveys 

varied from sponsor to sponsor and often changed from year to year. The 

CAHPS[supreg] program was designed to:

     Make it possible to compare survey results across sponsors 

and over time; and

     Generate tools and resources that sponsors can use to 

produce understandable and usable comparative information for 

consumers, health providers and for quality improvement purposes.

    Over time, the program has expanded beyond its original focus on 

health plans to address a range of health care services and to meet the 

various needs of health care consumers, purchasers, health plans, 

providers, and policymakers. Based on a literature review and an 

assessment of currently available questionnaires, AHRQ identified the 

need to develop a health literacy module for the CAHPS[supreg] Health 

Plan Survey. The intent of the health literacy module is to examine 

health plan enrollees' perspectives on how well health information is 

communicated to them by health plans and by healthcare professionals in 

the health plan setting. The objective of the new module is to provide 

information to



[[Page 39877]]



health plans, clinicians, group practices, and other interested parties 

regarding the quality of health information delivered to patients. The 

health literacy module will be pre-tested as a supplement to the 

CAHPS[supreg] Health Plan Survey.

    This pre-test has the following goals:

    (1) Analysis of item wording--Assess candidate wordings for items.

    (2) Analysis of participation rate--Evaluate the overall response 

rate and the proportion of that obtained from mail versus telephone 

modes of data collection.

    (3) Case mix adjustment analysis--Evaluate variables that need to 

be considered for case mix adjustment of scores.

    (4) Psychometric Analysis--Provide information for the revision of 

the health literacy item set based on the assessment of the reliability 

and validity.

    (5) Dissemination of the CAHPS Health Plan Health Literacy 

supplemental item set.

    This study is being conducted by AHRQ through its contractor, the 

RAND Corporation, pursuant to AHRQ's statutory authority to conduct 

research and evaluations on health care and systems for the delivery of 

such care, including activities with respect to the quality, 

effectiveness, efficiency, appropriateness and value of health care 

services. See 42 U.S.C. 299a(a)(1).



Method of Collection



    To achieve the goals of this pre-test the CAHPS Health Plan Health 

Literacy Survey will be implemented with a sample of persons from the 

surveys' target population, consumers of health care services offered 

by health plans. The data from this pre-test will be used to refine the 

health literacy module questions and will ensure that the future data 

collection yield high quality data and ensure a minimization of 

respondent burden, increase agency efficiency, and improve 

responsiveness to the public. The survey items will be added to 

currently available CAHPS[supreg] surveys and will enhance the ability 

of health plans and health professionals working in a health plan 

primary care setting to assess the quality of their services.



Estimated Annual Respondent Burden



    Exhibit 1 shows the estimated annualized burden for the 

respondents' time to participate in this data collection. About 1000 

persons will complete the CAHPS Health Plan Survey Health Literacy 

Module. The estimated response time of 25 minutes is based on the 

written length of the survey and AHRQ's experience with previous 

CAHPS[supreg] surveys of comparable length that were fielded with 

similar samples. The total burden hours are estimated to be 417 hours.

    Exhibit 2 shows the respondents' cost burden associated with their 

time to participate in this data collection. The total cost burden is 

estimated to be $8,715.



                                  Exhibit 1--Estimated Annualized Burden Hours

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                                                                     Number of

                    Form name                        Number of     responses per     Hours per     Total burden

                                                    respondents     respondent       response          hours

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CAHPS Health Plan Health Literacy Module........            1000               1           25/60             417

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

    Total.......................................            1000               1              na             417

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                                   Exhibit 2--Estimated Annualized Cost Burden

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                                                     Number of     Total burden   Average hourly    Total cost

                    Form name                       respondents        hours        wage rate*        burden

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CAHPS Health Plan Health Literacy Survey........            1000             417          $20.90          $8,715

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

    Total.......................................            1000             417              na           8,715

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* Based upon the average wages, ``National Compensation Survey: Occupational Wages in the United States, May

  2009,'' U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.



Estimated Annual Costs to the Federal Government



    Exhibit 3 shows the total and annualized cost to conduct this 

research. The total cost for this project is approximately $299,000. 

Since the data collection period is less than one year, the total and 

annualized costs are identical.



                  Exhibit 3--Estimated Annualized Cost

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         Cost component               Total cost        Annualized cost

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Review of literature............             $20,000             $20,000

Cognitive interviews............              60,000              60,000

Field test......................              90,000              90,000

Data analyses...................              40,000              40,000

Finalize survey.................              39,000              39,000

AHRQ project management.........              50,000              50,000

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    Total.......................             299,000             299,000

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[[Page 39878]]



Request for Comments



    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, comments on AHRQ's 

information collection are requested with regard to any of the 

following: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is 

necessary for the proper performance of AHRQ healthcare research and 

healthcare information dissemination functions, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of AHRQ's 

estimate of burden (including hours and costs) of the proposed 

collection(s) 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 upon the 

respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology.

    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 

and included in the Agency's subsequent request for OMB approval of the 

proposed information collection. All comments will become a matter of 

public record.



    Dated: June 24, 2011.

Carolyn M. Clancy,

Director.

[FR Doc. 2011-16920 Filed 7-6-11; 8:45 am]

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