[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 246 (Monday, December 23, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77465-77466]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30500]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary

 [Document Identifier: HHS-OS-20475-30D]


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

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Secretary (OS), Department of 
Health and Human Services, has submitted an Information Collection 
Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review and approval. The ICR is for a new collection. 
Comments submitted during the first public review of this ICR will be 
provided to OMB. OMB will accept further comments from the public on 
this ICR during the review and approval period.

DATES: Comments on the ICR must be received on or before January 22, 
2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to [email protected] or via 
facsimile to (202) 395-5806.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information Collection Clearance 
staff, [email protected] or (202) 690-6162.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting 
information, please include the Information Collection Request Title 
and document identifier HHS-OS-20475-30D for reference.
    Information Collection Request Title: Survey of Medical Care 
Providers for the Evaluation of the Regional Extension Center (REC) 
Program.
    Abstract: This new, one-time data collection activity is needed to 
collect information from practices that are utilizing assistance from 
the Regional Extension Center program to implement and meaningfully use 
health information technology, as well as practices that are not 
working with a Regional Extension Center. The survey data will be 
analyzed to determine whether there is an association between REC 
participation and the use of

[[Page 77466]]

technical assistance, EHR adoption, and achievement of meaningful use 
of electronic health records by primary care practices. The data will 
also be used to identify challenges faced by primary care practices 
when adopting and meaningfully using EHRs. The resulting data will 
inform policy decisions by the Office of the National Coordinator for 
Health Information Technology (ONC), REC program administrators, and 
the broader community of policy makers and researchers interested in 
electronic health record (EHR) adoption.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: The Office of the 
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has funded an 
independent national program evaluation of the Regional Extension 
Center program. The proposed information collection effort is necessary 
to collect information to answer the following research questions: (1) 
Is REC participation associated with adoption of EHRs and meaningful 
use of EHRs? (2) Is REC participation associated with attestation in 
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare and 
Medicaid incentive programs? (3) Is REC participation associated with 
satisfaction and positive opinions about EHRs? (4) Is REC participation 
associated with use of assistance services? (5) Is REC participation 
associated with experiencing less difficulty in adoption of EHRs? (6) 
Is REC participation associated with being part of a care 
transformation program? There is no existing data source that can be 
used to answer these research questions.
    Likely Respondents: The survey targets small primary care 
practices, and asks for the staff member most knowledgeable about 
electronic health record (EHR) adoption and utilization to answer the 
survey.
    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.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                                      Average
                                                     Number of       Number of      burden per     Total burden
      Type of  respondent           Form name       respondents    responses per   response  (in       hours
                                                                    respondent        hours)
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Physicians....................  Form A Screener             1571               1            5/60             131
                                 Administered on
                                 Paper.
Nurses........................  Form A Screener             1571               1            5/60             131
                                 Administered on
                                 Paper.
Practice Managers.............  Form A Screener             1570               1            5/60             131
                                 Administered on
                                 Paper.
Physicians....................  Form B Survey                475               1           30/60             238
                                 Administered as
                                 a Computer-
                                 Assisted
                                 Telephone
                                 Interview.
Nurses........................  Form B Survey                475               1           30/60             238
                                 Administered as
                                 a Computer-
                                 Assisted
                                 Telephone
                                 Interview.
Practice Managers.............  Form B Survey                475               1           30/60             238
                                 Administered as
                                 a Computer-
                                 Assisted
                                 Telephone
                                 Interview.
Physicians....................  Form C Shortened             119               1           10/60              20
                                 Survey
                                 Administered on
                                 Paper.
Nurses........................  Form C Shortened             119               1           10/60              20
                                 Survey
                                 Administered on
                                 Paper.
Practice Managers.............  Form C Shortened             118               1           10/60              20
                                 Survey
                                 Administered on
                                 Paper.
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1167
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Darius Taylor,
Deputy, Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-30500 Filed 12-20-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-45-P