[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11305-11306]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03750]


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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--
Extension

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 the proposed data collection projects of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA 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 April 26, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to [email protected] or mail the HRSA 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Room 14N136B, 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 
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--Extension.
    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 authorizes HRSA's Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to 
issue 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. Across these 
various programs, the authority allows HRSA to provide funds to rural 
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 goal of the program is to promote 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, perform tests of change focused on 
improvement, and use health

[[Page 11306]]

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: For this program, 
performance measures were drafted to provide data to the program and to 
enable HRSA to provide aggregate program data required by Congress 
under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993. These 
measures cover the principal topic areas of interest to the Federal 
Office of Rural Health Policy, including: (a) Access to care; (b) 
population demographics; (c) staffing; (d) consortium/network; (e) 
sustainability; and (f) project specific domains. All measures speak to 
HRSA's progress toward meeting the goals set.
    HRSA collects this information to quantify the impact of grant 
funding on access to health care, quality of services, and improvement 
of health outcomes. HRSA uses the data for program improvement and 
grantees use the data for performance tracking. No changes are proposed 
from the current data collection effort.
    Likely Respondents: The respondents would be 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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                                                     Number of                    Average burden
            Form name                Number of     responses per       Total       per response    Total burden
                                    respondents     respondent       responses      (in hours)         hours
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Quality Program PIMS Measures...              32               1              32               8             256
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    Total.......................              32  ..............              32  ..............             256
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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.

Maria G. Button,
Director, Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2021-03750 Filed 2-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P