[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 200 (Thursday, October 16, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62155-62156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24509]


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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: ``Continuing Education for Comparative Effectiveness Research 
Survey.'' In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), AHRQ invites the public to 
comment on this proposed information collection.
    This proposed information collection was previously published in 
the Federal Register on August 4th, 2014 and allowed 60 days for public 
comment. AHRQ did not receive any substantive comments. The purpose of 
this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by November 17, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: AHRQ's OMB Desk 
Officer by fax at (202) 395-6974 (attention: AHRQ's desk officer) or by 
email at [email protected] (attention: AHRQ's desk officer).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports 
Clearance Officer, (301) 427-1477, or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposed Project

Continuing Education for Comparative Effectiveness Research Survey

    Patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) is an area that has seen 
increased focus from research agencies and other government entities. 
Also known as comparative effectiveness research, PCOR is the focus of 
AHRQ's Effective Health Care (EHC) program, which has the mission of 
providing health care decisionmakers (e.g., patients, health care 
providers, purchasers, and policymakers) with recent evidence-based 
information about the harms, benefits, and effectiveness of various 
treatment options by comparing medical devices, surgeries, tests, 
drugs, or ways to deliver health care.
    The EHC program was created in response to Section 1013 of the 
Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 
and became the first federal program to conduct PCOR and disseminate 
those findings to the public. AHRQ works with researchers, academic 
organizations, and research centers through the EHC program on work 
relating to methods, training, and dissemination of products to a 
variety of stakeholders to help spread awareness and knowledge about 
PCOR. It is important for AHRQ to be able to measure the effectiveness 
of these products, which include training modules and publications, 
specifically around how they are affecting health care professionals' 
understanding, awareness, and use of PCOR and its related concepts. It 
is also important for AHRQ to be able to identify ways to improve how 
this information is being disseminated to the medical community.
    The Continuing Education for Comparative Effectiveness Research 
Project is designed to provide online continuing education materials 
that inform physicians and other health care providers about patient-
centered health research from the EHC Program, specifically comparative 
effectiveness research reports, and other government-funded comparative 
clinical effectiveness research. Online multimedia continuing education 
modules based on the Effective Health Care Program http://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/tools-and-resources/cmece-activities/ 
comparative effectiveness research reports will be planned, developed, 
disseminated, and promoted. In addition, data will be collected on the 
modules to assess their effectiveness and impact.
    This study is being conducted by AHRQ through its contractor, Hayes 
Inc. (Hayes) and Hayes' subcontractors, Deloitte Consulting LLP 
(Deloitte), pursuant to AHRQ's statutory authority to support the 
agency's dissemination of comparative clinical effectiveness research 
findings. 42 U.S.C. 299b-37(a)-(c).

Method of Collection

    To achieve the goals of this project, the following data collection 
will be implemented: (1) Each training module will involve one follow-
up questionnaire that would be administered six months after the 
completion of the course for the purposes of tracking the longer-term 
effectiveness of the modules.
    This data collection will help to meet AHRQ's objectives to:
    1. Understand the extent to which these online continuing education 
modules based on the EHC Program comparative effectiveness research 
reports improve knowledge of each topic and change participants' 
awareness of, attitude towards, and/or confidence to apply CER in their 
clinical practice.
    2. Track information about the dissemination efforts employed for 
CE/CER information specific to the modules, and the uptake of AHRQ's 
other EHC Program materials as a result of the project, including the 
Clinician and Consumer Summaries when available.
    3. Determine implementation practices (e.g. changes in practice 
behavior or implementation of the information conveyed in the modules) 
that occur as a result of the learning.
    4. Identify opportunities for improving the presentation and 
delivery of CE modules by gathering information on the participants' 
reactions to the modules and to the faculty presenters through the 
post-event evaluation assessment.
    AHRQ will use the information collected through this Information 
Collection Request to assess the short- and long-term progress in 
achieving the dissemination and implementation aims of the Continuing 
Education project.

Estimated Total Respondent Burden

    Exhibit 1 provides information on the estimated time to complete 
the data collection survey. These educational activities are enduring 
training modules and will be available for a 2-year period. The AHRQ 
Continuing Education for Comparative Effectiveness Research

[[Page 62156]]

Survey will be administered to each individual 6 months after 
completing the module. On average, respondents will spend 5 minutes 
completing the survey. As many as 4,400 health care professionals are 
expected to complete the surveys, based on an average of 2,000 health 
care providers taking each module with a 10% response rate, or 200; 200 
x 22 modules = 4,400. On average, respondents will spend 5 minutes 
completing the survey. The total burden is estimated to be 367 hours.

                                                         Exhibit 1--Estimated Respondent Burden
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                                         Average  burden                          Number of      Total  respondent  Total  burden per
   Estimated number of  respondents      per  respondent      Total burden      responses per          burden           respondent     Total  respondent
                                            (minutes)          (minutes)          respondent         (minutes)          (minutes)        burden  (hours)
A                                                      B                   C                 D                  E                  F                  G
                                                                      (A*B)                                     (C*D)          (B*D)             (E/60)
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4400..................................                 5             22,000                  1             22,000                  5                367
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                                        Exhibit 2--Estimated 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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AHRQ Online CME/CE 6-Month Evaluation...             4,400               367            $49.83           $18,288
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    Total...............................             4,400               367               N/A            18,288
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* Based upon the mean of the average hourly wages for Physicians (29-1069; $92.25), Pharmacists (29-1051;
  $56.01), Physician Assistants (29-1071; $45.36), Nurse Practitioners (29-1171; $45.71), Registered Nurses (29-
  1111; $33.13), and Healthcare Practitioners (29-9099; $26.54), May 2013 National Occupational Employment and
  Wage Estimates, United States, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#29-0000 viewed May 5, 2014.

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 health care research and 
health care 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: October 9, 2014.
Richard Kronick,
AHRQ Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-24509 Filed 10-15-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-P