[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 9, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1038-1039]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00173]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Public Comment Request Information Collection Request Title: Small 
Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program, OMB No. 0915-0387--
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 requirement for opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, 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 should be received no later than March 12, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to [email protected] or mail the HRSA 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Room 14N39, 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 Lisa Wright-
Solomon, the HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at (301) 
443-1984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting

[[Page 1039]]

information, please include the information request collection title 
for reference.
    Information Collection Request Title: Small Health Care Provider 
Quality Improvement Program, OMB No. 0915-0387--Revision.
    Abstract: This program is authorized by Title III, Public Health 
Service Act, Section 330A(g) (42 U.S.C. 254c(g)), as amended. This 
authority permits the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) to 
support grants that expand access to, coordinate, contain the cost of, 
and improve the quality of essential health care services, including 
preventive and emergency services, through the development of health 
care networks in rural and frontier areas and regions. The authority 
also allows HRSA to provide funds to rural and frontier communities to 
support the direct delivery of health care and related services, expand 
existing services, or enhance health service delivery through 
education, promotion, and prevention programs.
    The purpose of the Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement 
Grant (Rural Quality) Program is to provide support to rural primary 
care providers for implementation of quality improvement activities. 
The program promotes the development of an evidence-based culture and 
delivery of coordinated care in the primary care setting. Additional 
objectives of the program include improved health outcomes for 
patients, enhanced chronic disease management, and better engagement of 
patients and their caregivers. Organizations participating in the 
program are required to use an evidence-based quality improvement 
model; develop, implement and assess effectiveness of quality 
improvement initiatives; and use health information technology (HIT) to 
collect and report data. HIT may include an electronic patient registry 
or an electronic health record, and is a critical component for 
improving quality and patient outcomes. With HIT, it is possible to 
generate timely and meaningful data, which helps providers track and 
plan care.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: FORHP collects this 
information to quantify the impact of grant funding on access to health 
care, quality of services, and improvement of health outcomes. FORHP 
uses the data for program improvement and grantees use the data for 
performance tracking. The measures encompass access to care, population 
demographics, consortium/network, sustainability, quality improvement 
implementation strategies, clinical, and optional topic utilization.
    The proposed Rural Quality draft measures reflect a reduced number 
of measures: 25 total (previously 43), which includes 18 required 
measures applicable to all awardees in addition to 7 optional measures. 
Proposed revisions specifically include the following: (1) Alignment of 
clinical measures to current National Quality Forum endorsement 
recommendations and (2) broadened orientation of measures for improved 
applicability across variety of rural quality improvement project topic 
areas.
    Likely Respondents: The respondents would be award recipients of 
the Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program.
    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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Small Health Care Provider                    32               1              32              26             832
 Quality Improvement Program
 Performance Improvement
 Measurement System (PIMS)
 Measurement....................
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    Total.......................              32  ..............              32  ..............             832
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    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.

Amy McNulty,
Acting Director, Division of the Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2018-00173 Filed 1-8-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4165-15-P