[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 102 (Tuesday, May 30, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24704-24705]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-11099]


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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: ``Voluntary Customer Survey Generic Clearance for the Agency 
for Healthcare Research and Quality.''

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by July 31, 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 email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposed Project

Voluntary Customer Survey Generic Clearance for the Agency for 
Healthcare Research and Quality

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520, AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed information 
collection. This is a request for the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) to re-approve for an additional 3 years, under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, the generic clearance for the Agency for 
Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to survey the users of AHRQ's 
work products and services, OMB control number 0935-0106. The current 
clearance was approved on November 12, 2014 and will expire on November 
30, 2017.
    AHRQ will undertake customer surveys to assess its work products 
and services provided to its customers, to identify problem areas, and 
to determine how they can be improved. Surveys conducted under this 
generic clearance are not required by regulation and will not be used 
by AHRQ to

[[Page 24705]]

regulate or sanction its customers. Surveys will be entirely voluntary, 
and information provided by respondents will be combined and summarized 
so that no individually identifiable information will be released. 
Proposed information collections submitted under this generic clearance 
will be reviewed and acted upon by OMB within 14 days of submission.

Method of Collection

    The information collected through focus groups and voluntary 
customer surveys will be used by AHRQ to identify strengths and 
weaknesses in products and services to make improvements that are 
practical and feasible. Information from these customer surveys will be 
used to plan and redirect resources and efforts to improve or maintain 
a high quality of service to the lay and health professional public.

Estimated Annual Respondent Burden

    Exhibit 1 shows the estimated total burden hours for the 
respondents. Mail surveys are estimated to average 15 minutes, 
telephone surveys 40 minutes, web-based surveys 10 minutes, focus 
groups two hours, and in-person interviews are estimated to average 50 
minutes. Mail surveys may also be sent to respondents via email, and 
may include a telephone non-response follow-up. Telephone non-response 
follow-up for mailed surveys does not count as a telephone survey. The 
total burden hours for the 3 years of the clearance is estimated to be 
10,900 hours.
    Exhibit 2 shows the estimated cost burden for the respondents. The 
total cost burden for the 3 years of the clearance is estimated to be 
$128,757.

                                 Exhibit 1--Estimated Burden Hours Over 3 Years
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Number of
         Type of information collection              Number of     responses per     Hours per     Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent       response          hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mail/email *....................................           5,000               1           15/60           1,250
Telephone.......................................             200               1           40/60             133
Web-based.......................................           5,000               1           10/60             833
Focus Groups....................................             500               1             2.0           1,000
In-person.......................................             200               1           50/60             167
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................          10,900              na              na           3,383
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* May include telephone non-response follow-up in which case the burden will not change.


                                  Exhibit 2--Estimated Cost Burden Over 3 Years
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                                                                                      Average
         Type of information collection              Number of     Total burden     hourly wage     Total cost
                                                    respondents        hours          rate *          burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mail/email......................................           5,000           1,250          $38.06         $47,575
Telephone.......................................             200             133           38.06           5,062
Web-based.......................................           5,000             833           38.06          31,704
Focus Groups....................................             500           1,000           38.06          38,060
In-person.......................................             200             167           38.06           6,356
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................          10,900           3,383           38.06         128,757
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Bureau of Labor & Statistics on ``Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2016'' found at the following URL:
  https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes290000.htm for the respondents. The total cost burden for the 3 years of
  the clearance is estimated to be $386,271.

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. 2017-11099 Filed 5-26-17; 8:45 am]
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