[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 175 (Friday, September 9, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62512-62513]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-21733]


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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; Small Rural Hospital 
Transitions Project

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department 
of Health and Human Services

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with Section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA submitted an Information Collection Request 
(ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval. 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.

DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than October 
11, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, including the ICR Title, to the desk 
officer for HRSA, either by email to [email protected] or by 
fax to 202-395-5806.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the clearance 
requests submitted to OMB for review, email the HRSA Information 
Collection Clearance

[[Page 62513]]

Officer at [email protected] or call (301) 443-1984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Information Collection Request Title: Small Rural Hospital 
Transitions Project 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 Health Policy (FORHP) 
funds grant programs supporting expanding access to, 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; improving 
transitions of care as patients move from one care setting to another; 
adopting new payment approaches such as value-based purchasing; and 
tailoring operations to the 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 
Small Rural Hospital Transitions (SRHT) Project will assist small rural 
hospitals in making the transition. The purpose of the project is to 
provide on-site technical assistance to nine small rural hospitals 
located 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, assistance to help the hospitals 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: The information will be 
solicited in the form of the SRHT Project Technical Assistance Online 
Application form and the supporting hospital assessment, Performance 
Excellence for Rural Hospitals. All small rural hospitals desiring to 
apply for onsite technical assistance through SRHT will be required to 
complete the application and the survey. The applicant's information 
will be scored and ranked to aid in the selection of nine small rural 
hospitals to receive on-site technical assistance. Both the application 
form and the hospital assessment are designed to ensure the selection 
of hospital applicants consistent with established eligibility criteria 
and hospitals readiness or ability to implement consultant's 
recommendations.
    A 60-day Federal Register Notice was published in the Federal 
Register on June 24, 2016 (81 FR 41315). There were no public comments.
    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; have 49 staffed beds 
or less as reported on the hospital's most recently filed Medicare Cost 
Report. Hospitals; and 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 Project Technical                        30              38            1140             .50             570
 Assistance Online Application..
Assessment: Performance                       30              29             870             .25           217.5
 Excellence for Rural Hospitals.
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    Total.......................            * 30  ..............            2010  ..............           787.5
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* The same individuals complete the SRHT Online Application and the Assessment for a total of 30 respondents.


Jason E. Bennett,
Director, Division of the Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2016-21733 Filed 9-8-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4165-15-P