[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 122 (Friday, June 24, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41315-41316]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-14952]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Public Comment Request

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects (Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995), the Health Resources and Services 
Administration (HRSA) announces plans to submit an Information 
Collection Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks 
comments from the public regarding the burden estimate, below, or any 
other aspect of the ICR.

DATES: Comments on this ICR must be received no later than August 23, 
2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to [email protected] or mail the HRSA 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Room 14N-39, 5600 Fishers 
Lane, Rockville, MD 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and 
draft instruments, email [email protected] or call the HRSA 
Information Collection Clearance Officer at (301) 443-1984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting 
information, please include the information request collection title 
for reference.
    Information Collection Request Title: Small Rural Hospital 
Transition Project (SRHT) OMB No. 0906-xxxx--New.
    Abstract: Under Section 330A of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 254c(e)), the Federal Office of Rural

[[Page 41316]]

Health Policy (FORHP) funds grant programs supporting expanding access 
to, coordinating, restraining the cost of, and improving the quality of 
essential health care services in rural and frontier communities. Small 
rural hospitals are facing many challenges in the new health care 
environment, including the concurrent need to better measure and 
account for quality of care in all settings; improve transitions of 
care as patients move from one care setting to another; the evolution 
of new payment approaches such as value-based purchasing; and, new 
approaches to care delivery such as accountable care organizations 
(ACO) and patient-centered medical homes. Success in this new 
environment will require bridging the gaps between the current system 
and the newly emerging system of healthcare delivery and payment. 
Because little is known about how these new models might impact rural 
communities, there is a need to help hospitals understand and consider 
those factors that would make them logical participants in health care 
systems that focus on value. The SRHT, also funded by Section 330A, 
will assist small rural hospitals facing these challenges. The purpose 
of the project is to provide on-site technical assistance to nine small 
rural hospitals residing in persistent poverty counties. Technical 
assistance will be provided in the areas of: (1) Financial assessments, 
(2) creating a quality-focused environment, (3) aligning services to 
community need, and, (4) to the extent that financial and quality core 
areas have been stabilized, provide assistance to help recipients of 
technical assistance consider factors that would make them logical 
participants in health care systems that focus on value (for example 
ACOs, shared savings programs, primary care medical homes).
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: SRHT includes a 
deliverable to design processes for developing, receiving, reviewing, 
and scoring hospital applications for participation in the SRHT 
project. The processes will ensure that the selection of applicants is 
consistent with established criteria and hospitals' readiness or 
ability to implement consultants' recommendations. Specifically, the 
application form will be designed to solicit information that will be 
scored and ranked to aid in the selection of nine small rural hospitals 
to receive on-site technical assistance.
    Likely Respondents: Small rural hospitals located in a rural 
community, as defined by FORHP, persistent poverty county or a rural 
census tract of a metro persistent poverty county and have 49 staffed 
beds or less as reported on the hospital's most recently filed Medicare 
Cost Report. Hospitals may be for-profit or not-for-profit.
    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.
    Total Estimated Annualized burden hours:

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                                                                                      Average
                                     Number of       Number of         Total        burden per     Total burden
            Form name               respondents    responses per     responses     response (in        hours
                                                    respondent                        hours)
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SRHT Online Application.........              30              38           1,140             .50             570
Assessment: Performance                       30              29             870             .25           217.5
 Excellence for Rural Hospitals.
    Total.......................            30 *  ..............           2,010  ..............           787.5
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* The same individuals complete the SRHT Online Application and the Assessment for a total of 30 respondents.

    HRSA specifically requests comments on: (1) The necessity and 
utility of the proposed information collection for the proper 
performance of the agency's functions; (2) the accuracy of the 
estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected; and (4) the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology to 
minimize the information collection burden.

Jason E. Bennett,
Director, Division of the Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2016-14952 Filed 6-23-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4165-15-P