[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 235 (Thursday, December 6, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72870-72871]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-29496]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Public Comment Request

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Health Resources and 
Services Administration (HRSA) will submit an Information Collection 
Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Comments 
submitted during the first public review of this ICR will be provided 
to OMB. OMB will accept further comments from the public during the 
review and approval period. To request a copy of the clearance requests 
submitted to OMB for review, email [email protected] or call the HRSA 
Reports Clearance Office at (301) 443-1984.

Information Collection Request Title: Health Center Controlled Networks 
(OMB No. 0915-xxxx) NEW

    Abstract: One goal of the Health Resources and Services 
Administration (HRSA) is to ensure that all Health Center Program 
grantees effectively implement health information technology (HIT) 
systems that enable all providers to become meaningful users of HIT, 
including Electronic Health Records (EHR), and use those systems to 
increase access to care, improve quality of care, and reduce the costs 
of care delivered. The Health Center Controlled Network (HCCN) program 
serves as a major component of HRSA's HIT initiative to support these 
goals. The HCCN model focuses on the integration of certain functions 
and the sharing of skills, resources, and data to improve health center 
operations and care provision, and to generate efficiencies and 
economies of scale. Through this grant, HCCNs will provide support for 
the adoption, implementation, and meaningful use of HIT to improve the 
quality of care provided by existing Health Center Program grantees 
(i.e., Section 330 funded health centers) by engaging in the following 
program components:
     Adoption and Implementation: Assist participating health 
centers with effectively adopting and implementing certified EHR 
technology.
     Meaningful Use: Support participating health centers in 
meeting Meaningful Use requirements and accessing incentive payments 
under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs.
     Quality Improvement (QI): Advance participating health 
centers' QI initiatives to improve clinical and operational quality, 
including Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) recognition.
    HRSA plans to collect and evaluate network outcome measures. HRSA 
also plans to require that HCCNs report such measures to HRSA in annual 
work plan updates as part of their annual, non-competing continuation 
progress reports through an electronic reporting system. The work plan 
updates will include information on grantees' plans and progress on the 
following:

[[Page 72871]]

     Adoption and Implementation of HIT (including EHR);
     Attainment of Meaningful Use Requirements; and
     QI Measures (e.g., Healthy People 2020 clinical quality 
measures, PCMH recognition status, etc.).
    The annual, non-competing continuation progress reports will 
describe each grantee's progress in achieving key activity goals such 
as quality improvement, data access and exchange, efficiency and 
effectiveness of network services, and the ability to track and monitor 
patient outcomes, as well as emerging needs, challenges and barriers 
encountered, customer satisfaction, and plans to meet goals for the 
next year. Grantees will submit their work plan updates and annual, 
non-competing continuation progress report each fiscal year of the 
grant; the submission and subsequent HRSA approval of each report 
triggers the budget period renewal and release of each subsequent year 
of funding. The estimated total number of burden hours is 1662.
    Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide the 
information requested. This includes the time needed to review 
instructions; to develop, acquire, install and utilize technology and 
systems for the purpose of collecting, validating and verifying 
information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and 
providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to 
a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and 
review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise 
disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for 
this ICR are summarized in the table below.
    The annual estimate of burden is as follows:

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                                     Number of     Responses per       Total         Hours per     Total burden
            Form name               respondents     respondent       responses       response          hours
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Work Plan Update................              30               1              30            10.9             327
Annual Progress Report/Interim                30               1              30            44.5           1,335
 Evaluation Progress Report.....
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    Total.......................              30  ..............  ..............  ..............           1,662
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ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to the desk officer for HRSA either by 
email to [email protected] or by fax to 202-395-5806. Please 
direct all correspondence to the ``attention of the desk officer for 
HRSA.''
    Deadline: Comments on this ICR should be received within 30 days of 
this notice.

    Dated: November 29, 2012.
Bahar Niakan,
Director, Division of Policy and Information Coordination.
[FR Doc. 2012-29496 Filed 12-5-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P