[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 20, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 92814-92816]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30603]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 ``Generic

[[Page 92815]]

Clearance for the Collection of Data Through ACTION III Field-Based 
Investigations to Improve Health Care Delivery.'' In accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, AHRQ invites the 
public to comment on this proposed information collection.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by February 21, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: Doris Lefkowitz, 
Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, by email at 
[email protected].
    Copies of the proposed collection plans, data collection 
instruments, and specific details on the estimated burden can be 
obtained from the AHRQ Reports Clearance Officer.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposed Project

Generic Clearance for the Collection of Data Through ACTION III Field-
Based Investigations To Improve Health Care Delivery

    The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is requesting 
OMB approval of a generic clearance for purposes of conducting field-
based research to improve care delivery in diverse health care 
settings. More specifically, AHRQ seeks this clearance to support 
timely and meaningful answers to research questions investigated 
through AHRQ's ACTION Program. ACTION III research produces field-
based, stakeholder-informed knowledge about ways to improve care 
delivery, and real-world-driven implementation and dissemination of 
evidence across diverse care settings. A generic clearance to support 
expedited performance of ACTION III research activities would enable us 
to more efficiently meet agency goals while fully meeting the intent 
and requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act in a timely manner.
    Collection of the information described in this request is 
essential to supporting AHRQ's mission, which is to produce evidence to 
make health care safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable, and 
affordable, and to work with HHS and other partners to make sure that 
the evidence is understood and used. More specifically, in support of 
this mission, AHRQ initiates and oversees projects with the following 
overarching aims:
     Expand knowledge about how specific changes to processes 
or structures of care delivery might improve care quality;
     Develop and test interventions, strategies, tools, 
trainings and guidance for putting that knowledge into practice;
     Disseminate and implement evidence-based practices across 
diverse care settings
    This study is being conducted by AHRQ through its contractor, 
WESTAT, pursuant to AHRQ's statutory authority to conduct and support 
research on health care and on systems for the delivery of such care, 
including activities with respect to the quality, effectiveness, 
efficiency, appropriateness and value of health care services and with 
respect to quality measurement and improvement. 42 U.S.C 299a(a)(1) and 
(2).

Method of Collection

    Information collections conducted under this clearance will be 
collected via the following methods:
     Interviews--Interviews (telephone or in-person) will be 
conducted with clinical or management staff from diverse health care 
settings, patients, or other providers or recipients of care with the 
purposes of: Expanding knowledge about how specific changes to 
processes or structures of care delivery might improve care quality; 
obtaining stakeholder-informed input about how and why an intervention 
or strategy will or won't work in a particular real world setting; 
identifying contextual factors that facilitate or impede implementation 
of complex system interventions or evidence-based practices; 
identifying needs and challenges of intended users of tools and/or 
beneficiaries of trainings and other resources.
     Small discussion groups/Focus groups--Small discussion 
groups/Focus groups will be conducted with providers or recipients of 
care from diverse health care settings with the purposes of: Obtaining 
stakeholder-informed input about how and why an intervention or 
strategy is or is not working in a particular real world setting and 
identifying needs and gaining user/beneficiary feedback on value and 
limitations of prototype redesigned care processes, tools, resources or 
trainings.
     Implementation Logs will be used to track activities, time 
and resource use associated with use of tools, trainings or other 
resources, and to monitor progress and identify needed revisions to 
implementation methods.
     Recruitment and Screening calls will be used to identify 
and enroll individuals, groups, or organizations that will be willing 
to participate in the broader research study
     Questionnaires or brief surveys will be used to capture 
broad, high level staff or patient level feedback on experience with 
tools, redesigned care processes, trainings or other resources.
     Cognitive testing of surveys, Web sites, or other 
resources will be used to support the development of materials that 
resonate and can be understood by intended users.
     Collection of published and internal documents, 
performance assessments, and other data or information will provide 
important contextual information about the specific settings of care 
into which new tools, resources, training, or redesigned care processes 
will be introduced.
    AHRQ will use the proposed generic clearance to obtain field-based, 
stakeholder-informed input and feedback about how and why interventions 
or strategies designed to improve care quality (i.e., safety, 
effectiveness, patient-centeredness, timeliness, efficiency, and 
equity) do or do not work in the real world. Information collected 
under this clearance would be expected to increase understanding of how 
contextual factors and other key variables might affect the 
implementation and effectiveness of specific strategies, interventions 
or tools when utilized in particular settings. This knowledge would 
help health care providers and other decision-makers consider whether, 
when and how to use and adapt such strategies, interventions or tools 
to conform to their own needs and to the distinctive characteristics of 
the intended settings. Additionally, information collected under this 
clearance would be expected to increase AHRQ's understanding of 
contextual variables and other factors that facilitate or impede 
dissemination and implementation of clinical guidelines, evidence-based 
practices, and other research-based findings from the Patient-Centered 
Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), National Institutes of Health 
(NIH), and other partners.

Estimated Annual Respondent Burden

    As described above a variety of instruments and platforms will be 
used to collect information from respondents, though few, if any, 
single projects would be expected to use all the methods listed.
    The average number annual burden hours per year requested (2189.5) 
are presented in Table 1 below, and is based on an assumed average of 5 
projects per year (we rounded up the past average of 4.5 projects per 
year to 5). The

[[Page 92816]]

maximum total burden across all three years is thus 6568.5 hours.

                                   Table 1--Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Number of
              Data collection type                   Number of     responses per     Hours per     Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent       response          hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interviews......................................             375               2               1             750
Focus Groups/Small Discussions..................             420             1.5             1.5             945
Implementation Logs.............................              20               8               1             160
Recruitment and Screening.......................             139               1             0.5            69.5
Cognitive Testing...............................              40               1               1              40
Questionnaires/Brief Surveys....................           1,000               1             0.2             200
Collection of Internal Documents................              25               1               1              25
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............         2,189.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                    Table 2--Estimated Annualized Cost Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Number of     Total burden   Average hourly    Total cost
                    Form name                       respondents        hours        wage rate *       burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interviews......................................             250             500      \a\ $95.05      $47,525.00
(Clinicians--line 1; Patients--line 2)..........             125             250       \b\ 27.12         6780.00
Focus Groups/Small Discussions..................             420             945       \c\ 27.12       25,628.40
Implementation Logs.............................              20             160       \c\ 27.12        4,339.20
Recruitment and Screening.......................             139            69.5       \a\ 95.05        6,605.98
Cognitive Testing...............................              40              40       \c\ 27.12        1,084.80
Questionnaires/Brief Surveys....................            1000             200       \c\ 27.12        5,424.00
Collection of Internal Documents................              25              25       \a\ 95.05        2,376.25
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............       99,763.63
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* National Compensation Survey: Occupational wages in the United States May 2015 ``U.S. Department of Labor,
  Bureau of Labor Statistics:'' http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_stru.htm.
\a\ Based on the mean wages for 29-1069 Physicians and Surgeons, All Other.
\b\ Based on the mean wages for 00-0000 All Occupations.
\c\ Based on the mean wages for 29-9099 Miscellaneous Health Practitioners and Technical Workers: Healthcare
  Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Other.

    Using average wage rates for relevant job categories from 2016 BLS 
data, the total annual costs associated with these data collections per 
year are $116,746.13 as shown in Table 2 above, for a total cost for 
all three years of $350,238.39.

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.

Sharon B. Arnold,
Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. 2016-30603 Filed 12-19-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4160-90-P