[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 145 (Monday, July 29, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36606-36607]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-16043]


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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: ``Embedded Research in Care Delivery Systems.''

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by 60 days after date 
of publication.

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

``Embedded Research in Care Delivery Systems''

    Embedded researchers contribute to learning health systems by 
collaborating with delivery system stakeholders to produce innovations 
and evidence that can be rapidly implemented to improve the outcomes of 
individuals and populations and health system performance.
    Research is defined in this proposed project as embedded when it is 
conducted by an investigator who is employed or closely affiliated with 
the care delivery system and when the research project at least 
partially addresses operational concerns of the system (e.g., ways to 
improve care quality, value, or other aspects of system performance, 
such as patient and staff satisfaction).
    AHRQ is developing tools and findings to support learning health 
systems and embedded research, and is funding training of researchers 
to conduct embedded research.
    The proposed project has the following goals:
     Select health care delivery systems that currently apply 
diverse and distinctive strategies for embedded research.
     Conduct and report on qualitative case studies documenting 
how embedded research is prioritized, funded, managed, conducted, and 
used in these systems.
     Specify several promising strategies for organizing and 
conducting embedded research.
     Provide summaries of study findings that will stimulate 
consideration of current and future strategies for embedded research 
among funders, trainers, and delivery system leaders.

[[Page 36607]]

    The proposed project does not intend to create a comprehensive 
inventory of current practice in embedded research or to provide a 
representative sample of embedded research activities. Instead, the 
illustrative case studies will stimulate discussion at AHRQ and 
elsewhere about how to prepare researchers to conduct embedded 
research. Additionally, the case studies may provide insights to health 
research funding agencies about ways that funding criteria can 
influence the conduct of embedded research. The case studies may also 
provide health care leaders with illustrations of some of the potential 
benefits of supporting embedded research and some of the challenges of 
alternative approaches to incorporating such research into care 
delivery systems. AHRQ is conducting this study pursuant to the 
agency's statutory authority to conduct and support research on 
healthcare and on systems for the delivery of such care. 42 U.S.C. 
299a(a).

Method of Collection

    Based on an environmental scan, six to eight care delivery systems 
will be selected that employ people engaged in embedded research; have 
engaged in this type of research for at least two fiscal years; and 
take a distinctive approach to it or are recognized as a leader in this 
field. At least one system will be selected that has a mission and a 
commitment to serving AHRQ's priority populations. The investigators 
will conduct phone interviews with up to eight people in each of the 
selected systems. The interview subjects in each delivery system will 
include at least one occupant of each of the following roles: 
Executive-level manager; person exercising oversight over embedded 
research activities; person from a service line or care sector in which 
several embedded research projects have been carried out; lead 
investigator on one or more embedded research projects. Interviews will 
be coded and case study summaries created for each system. The case 
study summaries will describe promising embedded research strategies, 
potential benefits and challenges of this type of research, and lessons 
learned about addressing challenges. The findings will be shared with 
AHRQ leadership, other health system leaders and funders of embedded 
research projects, and with the health services research community.

Estimated Annual Respondent Burden

    Exhibit 1 is based on the following assumptions: No more than 8 
subjects will participate in the main round of interviews in each 
system (site). There will be a maximum of 8 sites. If supplementary 
information is needed on selected projects, no more than 3 
supplementary interviews will be conducted. Each supplementary 
interview will include 3-4 participants, with a total of no more than 
10 participants in the whole set of supplementary interviews.

                                  Exhibit 1--Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                     Number of
         Collection activity-interviews              Number of     responses per     Hours per     Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent       response          hours
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Interviews with executive-level subjects........              10               1               1              10
Interviews with physicians......................              22               1               1              22
Interviews with researchers and other operations              42               1               1              42
 staff..........................................
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............              74
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                                   Exhibit 2--Estimated Annualized Cost Burden
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                                                                                      Average
             Interview participants                  Number of     Total burden     hourly wage     Total cost
                                                    respondents        hours          rate *          burden
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Executive level (code 11-1011)..................              10              10          $96.22         $962.20
Physicians (code 29-1060).......................              22              22          101.43        2,231.46
Researchers and other operations staff (based on              42              42           42.48        1,784.16
 Operations Research Analysts code 15-2031).....
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............        4,977.82
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* National Compensation Survey: Occupational wages in the United States May 2018 ``U.S. Department of Labor,
  Bureau of Labor Statistics.''

Request for Comments

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 42 U.S.C. 3501-
3521, 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.

    Dated: 24 July 2019.
Virginia L. Mackay-Smith,
Associate Director.
[FR Doc. 2019-16043 Filed 7-26-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4160-90-P