[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 165 (Thursday, August 25, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 53118]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-21744]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

[Docket ID: DoD-2011-HA-0096]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health 
Affairs, DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense 
for Health Affairs announces the proposed extension of a public 
information collection and seeks public comment on the provisions 
thereof. 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 information collection; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by October 
24, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and 
title, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Federal Docket Management System Office, 4800 Mark 
Center Drive, Suite 02G09, Alexandria, VA 22350-3100.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency 
name, docket number and title for this Federal Register document. The 
general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the 
public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the 
Internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without 
change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on this 
proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposal and 
associated collection instruments, please write to the Office of the 
Chief Medical Officer (OCMO), TRICARE Management Activity, ATTN: Ms. 
Judy George, Skyline 5, Suite 810, 5111 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 
22041-3206, or call OCMO, Patient Safety Division, at (703) 681-0064.
    Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: DoD Patient Safety Survey; 
OMB Number 0720-0034.
    Needs and Uses: The 2001 National Defense Authorization Act 
contains specific sections addressing patient safety in military and 
veterans health care systems. This legislation states that the 
Secretary of Defense shall establish a patient care error reporting and 
management system to study occurrences of errors in patient care and 
that one of the purposes of the system should be ``To identify systemic 
factors that are associated with such occurrences'' and ``To provide 
for action to be taken to correct the identified systemic factors'' 
(Sec. 754, items b2 and b3). In addition, the legislation states that 
the Secretary shall ``Continue research and development investments to 
improve communication, coordination, and team work in the provision of 
health care'' (Sec. 754, item d4).
    In its ongoing response to this legislation and in support of its 
mission to ``promote a culture of safety to eliminate preventable 
patient harm by engaging, educating and equipping patient-care teams to 
institutionalize evidence-based safe practices,'' the DoD Patient 
Safety Program plans to field the Tri-Service Patient Safety Culture 
Survey. The Culture Survey is based on the Department of Health and 
Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's validated 
survey instrument. Previously administered in 2005/6 and 2008, the 
survey obtains MHS staff opinions on patient safety issues such as 
teamwork, communications, medical error occurrence and response, error 
reporting, and overall perceptions of patient safety. The purpose of 
the survey is to assess the current status of patient safety in MHS 
facilities and to assess patient safety improvement over time. Two 
versions of the survey will be available for administration. The 
inpatient survey tool is the same, OMB-approved tool that was 
administered in previous years. There will also be a corresponding 
outpatient survey tool, with congruous questions tailored to the 
ambulatory or clinic setting. Respondents will select the survey 
corresponding to their care survey.
    Affected Public: Federal government; individuals or households.
    Annual Burden Hours: 2,337 hours.
    Number of Respondents: 14,022.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Average Burden per Response: 10 minutes.
    Frequency: On occasion.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Respondent's obligation--voluntary.

Summary of Information Collection

    The Web-based survey will be administered on a voluntary-basis to 
all staff working in Army, Navy, and Air Force Military Health System 
(MHS) direct care facilities in the U.S. and internationally, including 
Military Treatment Facility (MTF) hospitals as well as ambulatory and 
dental services. Responses and respondents will remain anonymous. There 
are two versions of the survey that may be administered, corresponding 
to the setting in which care is delivered, either Hospital (inpatient) 
or Ambulatory (outpatient/clinic setting).

    Dated: August 22, 2011.
Aaron Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2011-21744 Filed 8-24-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-06-P