[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 145 (Friday, July 27, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35669-35670]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16046]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

    In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 concerning opportunity for public comment on proposed 
collections of information, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration (SAMHSA) will publish periodic summaries of 
proposed projects. To request more information on the proposed projects 
or to obtain a copy of the information collection plans, call the 
SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer on (240) 276-1243.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collections of 
information are necessary for the proper performance of the functions 
of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection 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 on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.

Proposed Project: Testing of Electronic Health Records Questions for 
the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS) and 
the National Mental Health Services Survey (N-MHSS)--NEW

    The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 
(SAMHSA), Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality (CBHSQ), 
is requesting approval for conducting cognitive testing on the use of 
electronic health records (EHRs) by substance abuse and mental health 
treatment facilities in the United States. The final goal of this 
cognitive testing is to incorporate questions on electronic health 
records to SAMHSA's National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment 
Services (N-SSATS) and the National Mental Health Services Survey (N-
MHSS).
    Currently, there is a lack of national level data that exists on 
behavioral health care providers' progress toward interoperability. The 
National Council for Behavioral Health in 2011/2012 conducted a survey 
to determine health information technology (IT) readiness. This data 
focused only on the membership of the National Council for Behavioral 
Health and does not provide national baseline data on the four domains 
of interoperability that are outlined in the Interoperability Roadmap 
(finding, sending, receiving and integrating data into EHRs) for 
behavioral health care providers. Currently, these providers are not 
eligible to participate in interoperability driving efforts such as the 
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) 
initiative. However, some behavioral health providers may be eligible 
in the future to participate in value-based payment initiatives such as 
the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). Measuring and 
reporting the state of interoperability will help to determine the type 
of support these providers need and their readiness to

[[Page 35670]]

participate in delivery system reform efforts in the future.
    Collaboration between the Office of the National Coordinator for 
Health Information Technology (ONC) and SAMHSA on this data collection 
effort will provide an efficient manner to track trends in health IT 
adoption, use, and interoperability among behavioral health care 
providers. In addition, this collaboration will contribute to the 
development of strategic efforts to leverage health IT in behavioral 
health care settings to provide cost effective, high quality and 
patient-centered care. Results from this testing will allow ONC and 
SAMHSA to work together to quantitatively assess health IT adoption and 
interoperability among behavioral health care providers using SAMHSA's 
current national surveys, the National Survey of Substance Abuse 
Treatment Services (N-SSATS) and the National Mental Health Services 
Survey (N-MHSS).
    The information obtained from these efforts will be used to develop 
a new set of questions on the use and implementation of EHRs in 
behavioral health facilities for the N-SSATS and the N-MHSS surveys. 
Specifically, the information from the testing will be used to reduce 
respondent burden while simultaneously improving the quality of the 
data collected in these surveys.
    Data from this testing will be collected mostly via telephone 
interviews, and few cases conducted with in-person interviews. Results 
of this test will not be disseminated or used to inform policy, 
program, or budget decisions. Findings will be shared between ONC and 
SAMHSA staff to decide how the tested questions will be incorporated in 
the surveys.
    It is estimated that the total burden for this project is 40 hours, 
based on a maximum of 80 interviews with an average of 30 minutes per 
interview.
    The request for OMB seeks approval to conduct this testing of EHR 
questions during the Fall of 2018 for possible implementation starting 
in 2020.
    The total estimated burden for this study is 39.2 hours for the 
period from September through December 2018.

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                                                                        Number of      Responses per   Total number of     Hours per       Total burden
                               Survey                                  respondents       respondent       responses         response          hours
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Interviews.........................................................              80                1               80              .50               40
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    Send comments to Summer King, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, 
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 15E57-B, Rockville, MD 20857 OR email a copy at 
[email protected]. Written comments should be received by 
September 25, 2018.

Summer King,
Statistician.
[FR Doc. 2018-16046 Filed 7-26-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4162-20-P