[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 195 (Wednesday, October 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47213-47215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-21844]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Public Comment Request; 
Information Collection Request Title: Bureau of Primary Health Care 
Uniform Data System, OMB No. 0915-0193--Revision

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA 
has 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

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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 November 
13, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, including the Information Collection 
Request 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 Lisa Wright-Solomon, the 
HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at [email protected] or 
call (301) 443-1984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting 
information, please include the information request collection title 
for reference, in compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
    Information Collection Request Title: Bureau of Primary Health Care 
Uniform Data System, OMB No. 0915-0193--Revision.
    Abstract: The Uniform Data System (UDS) is the Bureau of Primary 
Health Care's (BPHC) annual reporting system for the HRSA-supported 
health centers. UDS includes reporting requirements for Health Center 
Program look-alikes and grantees of the following: Community Health 
Center program, Migrant Health Center program, Health Care for the 
Homeless program, and Public Housing Primary Care program. A subset of 
recipients of the Bureau of Health Workforce's (BHW) Nurse Education, 
Practice, Quality and Retention (NEPQR) program, specifically those 
recipients that are funded under the practice priority areas listed 
under Public Health Services Act (PHSA) Sec. 831(b), are also required 
to complete UDS annual reporting.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: HRSA collects UDS data 
annually to ensure compliance with legislative and regulatory 
requirements, improve health center performance and operations, and 
report overall program accomplishments. The data help to identify 
trends, enabling HRSA to establish or expand targeted programs and 
identify effective services and interventions to improve the health of 
medically underserved communities and vulnerable populations. UDS data 
are compared with national health-related data, including the National 
Health Interview Survey and National Health and Nutrition Examination 
Survey to explore potential differences between health center patient 
populations and the U.S. population at large, and those individuals and 
families who rely on the health care safety net for primary care. UDS 
data also inform Health Center Program partners and communities 
regarding the patients served by health centers.
    HRSA received public comment to the Federal Register notice 
``Bureau of Primary Health Care Uniform Data System'' published on May 
5, 2017, at 82 FR 21253. We have taken the commenter's suggestions into 
consideration and have made appropriate adjustments to the data 
collection instruments.
    The UDS data collection will be revised in six ways.
     To support continued efforts to standardize data 
collection and reduce the burden per respondent of reporting for health 
centers, HRSA is updating the clinical quality measures in table 6B and 
7 to align with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 
electronic clinical quality measures (e-CQMs) designated for the 2018 
reporting period.
     Poor glycemic control is defined as HbA1c >9% per the CMS 
quality programs and e-specifications. Although clinical 
recommendations (e.g., American Diabetes Association) suggest that 
people with diabetes should aim to have an HbA1c <=7% (or HbA1c<8%), 
the CMS e-specification only accounts for ``poor diabetes control.'' 
Therefore, HRSA is removing this column to be consistent with the 
Healthy People 2020 national benchmark, CMS eCQMs, and to reduce 
reporting burden.
     Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) recognition assesses 
a health center's approach to patient-centered care. HRSA routinely 
receives PCMH recognition data from national quality recognition 
bodies. Therefore, HRSA is removing this question to reduce reporting 
burden.
     Telehealth is increasingly used as a method of health care 
delivery for the health center patient population, especially hard-to-
reach patients living in geographically isolated communities. 
Collecting information on telehealth capacity and use of telehealth is 
essential for delivering technical assistance to health centers and 
assuring access to comprehensive, culturally competent, quality primary 
health care services. Based on the uniqueness of telehealth data and 
its introduction into the UDS system, HRSA is proposing questions that 
more precisely describe health center efforts in this area.
     Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) has been proven to be 
an effective treatment option for substance abuse disorder. With the 
enactment of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, 
Public Law 114-198, opioid treatment prescribing privileges have been 
extended beyond physicians to include certain qualifying nurse 
practitioners (NPs) and physicians' assistants (PAs). As a result, HRSA 
is updating the MAT for Opioid Use Disorder question in Appendix E of 
the UDS to include NPs and PAs who have received an appropriate waiver 
to dispense narcotic drugs.
     In 2016, 98.7% of HRSA supported grantees reported 
adoption and use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs). The question in 
Appendix D regarding Meaningful Use attestation stages captures precise 
data regarding health center participation in the program. HRSA is 
updating this question to align with the CMS EHR Incentive Program 
Updates pertaining to attestation titles.
    Likely Respondents: The respondents will be HRSA BPHC Health Center 
Program grantees, look-alikes, and BHW NEPQR Program recipients funded 
under the practice priority areas listed under PHSA Sec. 831(b).
    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.

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                                    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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Universal Report................           1,471               1           1,471             168         247,128
Grant Report....................             504               1             504              21          10,584
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    Total.......................           1,975  ..............           1,975  ..............         257,712
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Amy McNulty,
Acting Director, Division of the Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2017-21844 Filed 10-10-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4165-15-P