[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 249 (Tuesday, December 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78409-78410]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30418]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

[Docket ID: DoD-2014-HA-0161]


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 the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs 
announces a proposed 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 March 2, 
2015.

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, East Tower, 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.
    Any associated form(s) for this collection may be located within 
this same electronic docket and downloaded for review/testing. Follow 
the instructions at http://www.regulations.gov for submitting comments. 
Please submit comments on any given form identified by docket number, 
form number, and title.

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 Defense Health 
Agency (DHA), Communications Division, ATTN: Lennya Bonivento, 7700 
Arlington Boulevard, Suite 5101, Falls Church, VA 22042-5101, or call 
DHA Communications Division, at 703-681-1770.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: Assistance Reporting Tool 
(ART), OMB Control Number 0720-TBD.
    Needs and Uses: The ART is a secure web-based system that captures 
feedback on and authorization related to TRICARE benefits. Users are 
comprised of Military Health System (MHS) customer service personnel, 
to include Beneficiary Counseling and Assistance Coordinators, Debt 
Collection Assistance Officers, personnel, family support, recruiting 
command, case managers, and others who serve in a customer service 
support role. The ART is also the primary means by which DHA-Great 
Lakes staff capture medical authorization determinations and claims 
assistance information for remotely located service members, line of 
duty care, and for care under the Transitional Care for Service-related 
Conditions benefit. ART data reflects the customer service mission 
within the MHS: It helps customer service staff users prioritize and 
manage their case workload; it allows users to track beneficiary 
inquiry workload and resolution, of which a major component is 
educating beneficiaries on their TRICARE benefits. Personal health 
information (PHI) and personally identifiable information (PII) entered 
into the system is received from individuals via a verbal or written 
exchange and is only collected to facilitate beneficiary case 
resolution. Authorized users may use the PII/PHI to obtain and verify 
TRICARE eligibility, treatment, payment, and other healthcare 
operations information for a

[[Page 78410]]

specific individual. All data collected is voluntarily given by the 
individual. At any time during the case resolution process, individuals 
may object to the collection of PHI and PII via verbal or written 
notice. Individuals are informed that without PII/PHI the authorized 
user of the system may not be able to assist in case resolution, and 
that answers to questions/concerns would be generalities regarding the 
topic at hand.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Annual Burden Hours: 63,500.
    Number of Respondents: 254,000.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Annual Responses: 254,000.
    Average Burden per Response: 15 minutes.
    Frequency: On Occasion.
    The Defense Health Agency (DHA) Communications Division designed 
the ART as a secure, (Department of Defense Information Assurance 
Certification and Accreditation Process-certified with a Privacy Impact 
Assessment on file with the DHA Privacy and Civil Liberties Office) 
web-based system to track, refer, reflect, and report workload 
associated with resolution of beneficiary and/or provider inquiries. 
The ART is also the primary means by which DHA-Great Lakes staff 
capture medical authorization determinations and claims assistance 
information for remotely located service members, line of duty care, 
and for care under the Transitional Care for Service-related Conditions 
benefit.
    Users are comprised of MHS customer service personnel, to include 
Beneficiary Counseling and Assistance Coordinators, Debt Collection 
Assistance Officers, DHA-Great Lakes staff, personnel, family support, 
recruiting command, case managers, and others who serve in a customer 
service support role. Only individuals with a valid need-to-know 
demonstrated by assigned official Government duties are granted access 
to the ART. These individuals must satisfy all personnel security 
criteria with special protection measures or restricted distribution as 
established by the data owner.
    ART data reflects the customer service mission within the MHS: It 
helps customer service staff users prioritize and manage their case 
workload; it allows users to track beneficiary inquiry workload and 
resolution, of which a major component is educating beneficiaries on 
their TRICARE benefits.
    PHI and PII entered into the system is received from individuals 
via a verbal or written exchange and is only collected to facilitate 
beneficiary case resolution. Authorized users may use the PII/PHI to 
obtain and verify TRICARE eligibility, treatment, payment, and other 
healthcare operations information for a specific individual. All data 
collected is voluntarily given by the individual. At any time during 
the case resolution process, individuals may object to the collection 
of PHI and PII via verbal or written notice. Individuals are informed 
that without PII/PHI the authorized user of the system may not be able 
to assist in case resolution, and that answers to questions/concerns 
would be generalities regarding the topic at hand.

    Dated: December 22, 2014.
Aaron Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2014-30418 Filed 12-29-14; 8:45 am]
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