[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 17 (Monday, January 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4623-4624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01264]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Management and 
Organizational Practices Survey--Hospitals (MOPS-HP)

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a 
proposed new collection called the Management and Organizational 
Practices Survey--Hospitals (MOPS-HP) as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on 
or before March 27, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Thomas Smith, PRA Liaison, 
U.S. Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Room 7K250A, Washington, DC 
20233 (or via the internet at [email protected]). You may also submit 
comments, identified by Docket Number USBC-2019-0020, to the Federal e-
Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. All comments received 
are part of the public record. No comments will be posted to http://www.regulations.gov for public viewing until after the comment period 
has closed. Comments will generally be posted without change. All 
Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address) 
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do 
not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or 
protected information. You may submit attachments to electronic 
comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions 
should be directed to Edward Watkins at [email protected] 
or 301-763-4750.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    The U.S. Census Bureau plans to conduct the Management and 
Organizational Practices Survey-Hospitals (MOPS-HP) for survey year 
2019 as a joint project with Harvard Business School. The MOPS-HP will 
utilize a subset of the Service Annual Survey mail-out sample and will 
collect data on management practices from Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs) 
at general medical and surgical hospitals to assist in identifying 
determinants of clinical and financial performance.
    Currently, no official statistics on management practices in 
hospitals exist. Past research shows these practices are related to 
health care providers' clinical and financial outcomes. This suggests 
that providing measures on management practices may potentially help 
the U.S.

[[Page 4624]]

health care system, which is challenged by rising health care costs, 
increased demand from an aging society, and quality objectives. These 
data would permit users, such as Harvard Business School, to examine 
relationships between management practices and financial outcomes using 
Census Bureau data (e.g., revenues) and relationships with clinical 
outcomes using external data sources. Additionally, these data would 
provide hospital administrators and managers information to evaluate 
their practices in comparison to other hospitals at an aggregate level.
    The MOPS-HP content was proposed by external researchers with past 
experience in surveying hospitals on management practices. Some 
questions are adapted from the Management and Organizational Practices 
Survey (MOPS), conducted in the manufacturing sector, allowing for 
inter-sectoral comparisons. Content for the MOPS-HP includes 
performance monitoring, financial and clinical targets, and incentives. 
The 39 questions are grouped into the following sections: Tenure, 
Management Practices, Management Training, Management of Team 
Interactions, Staffing and Allocation of Human Resources, Standardized 
Clinical Protocols, Documentation of Patients' Medical Records, and 
Organizational Characteristics.

II. Method of Collection

    The MOPS-HP sample will consist of approximately 4,500 hospital 
locations for enterprises classified under General Medical and Surgical 
Hospitals (NAICS 6221) and sampled in the Service Annual Survey (SAS). 
The survey will be mailed separately from the 2019 SAS and collected 
electronically through the Census Bureau's Centurion online reporting 
system. Respondents will be sent an initial letter with instructions 
detailing how to log into the instrument and report their information. 
These letters will be addressed to the location's Chief Nursing Officer 
(CNO). Before mailing, the Census Bureau will attempt to identify the 
CNO at each location. In instances where the CNO is not identifiable, 
the letter will be addressed to the hospital's administrative office 
with attention to the CNO. Collection is scheduled to begin in 
September 2020 and end in April 2021.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-XXXX.
    Form Number(s): MP-2000.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: General medical and surgical hospitals.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,500.
    Estimated Time per Response: 45 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 3,375.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0 (This is not the cost of 
respondents' time, but the indirect costs respondents may incur for 
such things as purchases of specialized software or hardware needed to 
report, or expenditures for accounting or records maintenance services 
required specifically by the collection.)
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Sections 131 and 182.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is 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 
(including hours and cost) 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.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2020-01264 Filed 1-24-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P