[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 42 (Monday, March 4, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7370-7372]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-03734]
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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: ``Online Application Order Form for Products from the
Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP).''
This proposed information collection was previously published in
the Federal Register on December 18, 2018 and allowed 60 days for
public comment. AHRQ received no substantive comments from members of
the public. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30
days for public comment.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by April 3, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: AHRQ's OMB Desk
Officer by fax at (202) 395-6974 (attention: AHRQ's desk officer) or by
email at [email protected] (attention: AHRQ's desk officer).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports
Clearance Officer, (301) 427-1477, or by email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Proposed Project
Online Application Order Form for Products From the Healthcare Cost and
Utilization Project (HCUP)
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-
3521, AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed information
collection. The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP,
pronounced ``H-Cup'') is a vital resource helping the Agency achieve
its research agenda, thereby furthering its goal of improving the
delivery of health care in the United States. HCUP is a family of
health care databases and related software tools and products developed
through a Federal-State-Industry partnership and sponsored by AHRQ.
HCUP includes the largest collection of longitudinal hospital care data
in the United States, with all-payer, encounter-level information
beginning in 1988. The HCUP databases are annual files that contain
anonymous information from hospital discharge records for inpatient
care and certain components of outpatient care, such as emergency care
and ambulatory surgeries. The project currently releases seven types of
databases created for research use on a broad range of health issues,
including cost and quality of health services, medical practice
patterns, access to health care programs, and outcomes of treatments at
the national, State, and local market levels. HCUP also produces a
large number of software tools to enhance the use of administrative
health care data for research and public health use. Software tools use
information available from a variety of sources to create new data
elements, often through sophisticated algorithms, for use with the HCUP
databases.
HCUP's objectives are to:
Create and enhance a powerful source of national, state,
and all-payer health care data.
Produce a broad set of software tools and products to
facilitate the use of HCUP and other administrative data.
Enrich a collaborative partnership with statewide data
organizations (that voluntarily participate in the project) aimed at
increasing the quality and use of health care data.
Conduct and translate research to inform decision making
and improve health care delivery.
This project is being conducted by AHRQ through its primary
contractor and subcontractor, IBM Watson Health and Social & Scientific
Systems, Inc., 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 outcomes, cost, cost-
effectiveness, and use of health care services and access to such
services. 42 U.S.C. 299a(a)(3).
Method of Collection
The HCUP releases seven types of databases for public research use:
[[Page 7371]]
(1) The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) is the largest all-payer
inpatient care database in the United States, yielding national
estimates of hospital inpatient stays. The NIS approximates 20 percent
of the discharges from all U.S. community hospitals and contains data
from approximately 7 million hospital stays each year. NIS data
releases are available for purchase from the HCUP Central Distributor
for data years beginning in 1988.
(2) The Kids' Inpatient Database (KID) is the only all-payer
inpatient care database for children in the United States. The KID was
specifically designed to permit researchers to study a broad range of
conditions and procedures related to child health issues. The KID
contains a sample of 2 to 3 million discharges for children age 20 and
younger from more than 4,200 U.S. community hospitals. KID data
releases are available every third year starting in 1997.
(3) The Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) is the
largest all-payer ED database in the United States. It is constructed
to capture information both on ED visits that do not result in an
admission and on ED visits that result in an admission to the same
hospital. The NEDS contains more than 31 million unweighted records for
ED visits at about 950 U.S. community hospitals and approximates a 20-
percent stratified sample of U.S. hospital-based EDs. NEDS data
releases are available beginning with data year 2006.
(4) The State Inpatient Databases (SID) contain the universe of
inpatient discharge abstracts from data organizations in 48 States and
the District of Columbia that currently participate in the SID.
Together, the SID encompass approximately 97 percent of all U.S.
community hospital discharges. Most States that participate in the SID
make their data available for purchase through the HCUP Central
Distributor. Files are available beginning with data year 1990.
(5) The State Ambulatory Surgery and Services Databases (SASD)
contain encounter-level data from ambulatory surgery and other
outpatient services from hospital-owned facilities. In addition, some
States provide data for ambulatory surgery and outpatient services from
nonhospital-owned facilities. Currently, 35 States participate in the
SASD. Files are available beginning with data year 1997.
(6) The State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD) contain data
from hospital-owned emergency departments (ED) for visits that do not
result in a hospitalization. Currently, 38 States participate in the
SEDD. Files are available beginning with data year 1999.
(7) The Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD) is designed to
support various types of analyses of national readmission rates. This
database addresses a large gap in health care data--the lack of
nationally representative information on hospital readmissions. The NRD
is a calendar-year, discharge-level database constructed from the HCUP
State Inpatient Databases (SID).
To support AHRQ's mission to improve health care through scientific
research, HCUP databases and software tools are disseminated to users
outside of the Agency through a mechanism known as the HCUP Central
Distributor at https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/tech_assist/centdist.jsp.
The HCUP Central Distributor assists qualified researchers to access
uniform research data across multiple states with the use of one
application process. The HCUP databases disseminated through the
Central Distributor are referred to as ``restricted access public
release files''; that is, they are publicly available, but only under
restricted conditions.
This information collection request is for the activities
associated with the HCUP database application process, not the
collection of health care data for HCUP databases.
The activities associated with this application include:
(1) HCUP Application. All persons requesting access to the HCUP
databases must complete an application at https://distributor.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/. Applications for HCUP State databases require a brief
description of the planned research use to ensure that the intended use
is consistent with HCUP policies and with the HCUP Data Use Agreement
(DUA). Paper versions of all application packages are also available
for downloading at http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/tech_assist/centdist.jsp.
(2) HCUP DUA Training. All persons wanting access to the HCUP
databases must complete an online training course. The purpose of the
training is to emphasize the importance of data protection, reduce the
risk of inadvertent violations, and describe the individual's
responsibility when using HCUP data. The training course can be
accessed and completed online at http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/techassist/dua.jsp.
(3) HCUP DUA. All persons wanting access to the HCUP databases must
sign a data use agreement. An example DUA for the Nationwide databases
is available at http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/team/NationwideDUA.jsp.
HCUP databases are released to researchers outside of AHRQ after
the completion of required training and submission of an application
that includes a signed HCUP DUA. In addition, before restricted access
public release state-level databases are released, AHRQ must review and
approve the applicant's statement of intended use to ensure that the
planned use is consistent with HCUP policies and with the HCUP DUA.
Fees are set for databases released through the HCUP Central
Distributor depending on the type of database. The fee for sale of
state-level data is determined by each participating Statewide Data
Organization and reimbursed to those organizations. Information
collected in the HCUP Application process will be used for two purposes
only:
1. Business Transaction: In order to deliver the HCUP databases and
software, contact information is necessary for shipping some types of
HCUP data on disk (or any other media used in the future).
2. Enforcement of the HCUP DUA: The HCUP DUA contains several
restrictions on use of the data. Most of these restrictions have been
put in place to safeguard the privacy of individuals and establishments
represented in the data. For example, data users can only use the data
for research, analysis, and aggregate statistical reporting and are
prohibited from attempting to identify any persons in the data. Contact
information on HCUP DUAs is retained in the event that a violation of
the DUA takes place.
Estimated Annual Respondent Burden
Exhibit 1 shows the estimated annualized burden associated with the
applicants' time to order any of the HCUP databases. An estimated 1,500
persons will order HCUP data annually. Each of these persons will
complete an application (10 minutes), the DUA training (15 minutes) and
a DUA (5 minutes). The total burden is estimated to be 750 hours
annually.
Exhibit 2 shows the estimated annualized cost burden associated
with the applicants' time to order HCUP data. The total cost burden is
estimated to be $29,662 annually.
[[Page 7372]]
Exhibit 1--Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Number of
Form name Number of responses per Hours per Total burden
respondents respondent response hours
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HCUP Application Form........................... 1,500 1 10/60 250
HCUP DUA Training............................... 1,500 1 15/60 375
HCUP DUA........................................ 1,500 1 5/60 125
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Total....................................... 4,500 na na 750
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Exhibit 2--Estimated Annualized Cost Burden
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Number of Total burden Average hourly Total cost
Form name respondents hours wage rate * burden
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HCUP Application Form........................... 1,500 250 $39.55 $9,887
HCUP DUA Training............................... 1,500 375 39.55 14,831
HCUP DUA........................................ 1,500 125 39.55 4,944
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Total....................................... 4,500 750 na 29,662
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* Based upon the mean of the average wages for Life Scientists, All Other (19-1099), National Compensation
Survey: Occupational Employment Statistics, May 2017 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
United States, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#b29-0000.
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.
Francis D. Chesley, Jr.,
Acting Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. 2019-03734 Filed 3-1-19; 8:45 am]
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