[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 104 (Wednesday, June 2, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29586-29588]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11542]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Public Comment Request; Rural Health Care 
Coordination Program Performance Improvement and Measurement System 
Database, OMB No. 0906-0024--Reinstate With Changes

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department 
of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA 
has submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Comments submitted 
during the first public review of this ICR will be provided to OMB. OMB 
will accept further comments from the public during the review and 
approval period.

DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than July 2, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, including the ICR Title, to the desk 
officer for HRSA, either by email to [email protected] or by 
fax to (202) 395-5806.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the clearance 
requests submitted to OMB for review, email the HRSA Information 
Collection Clearance Officer at [email protected] or call (301) 443-
1984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting 
information, please include the information request collection title 
for reference.
    Information Collection Request Title: Rural Health Care 
Coordination Program Performance Improvement and Measurement System 
Database, OMB No. 0906-0024--Reinstate with Changes.
    Abstract: The Rural Health Care Coordination (Care Coordination) 
program is authorized under Section 330A(e) of the Public Health 
Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. 254(e)), as amended, to ``improve access 
and

[[Page 29587]]

quality of care through the application of care coordination strategies 
with the focus areas of collaboration, leadership and workforce, 
improved outcomes, and sustainability in rural communities.'' This 
authority permits the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to support 
rural health consortiums/networks aiming to achieve the overall goals 
of improving access, delivery, and quality of care through the 
application of care coordination strategies in rural communities.
    This ICR was discontinued in January 2020. HRSA is requesting a 
reinstatement with changes as it was decided to re-compete this pilot 
program.
    The proposed Rural Health Care Coordination Program draft measures 
for information collection reflect changes to the Clinical Measures 
section which was previously in section eight and now currently in 
section six. The Clinical Measures Section now expands previous project 
focus from three chronic diseases (i.e., Type 2 diabetes, Congestive 
Heart Failure, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) to an 
inclusive list of clinical measures in order to reflect a patient's 
overall health and well-being as well as the organizations' overall 
improved outcomes for the project. Proposed revisions also include 
measures to examine key elements cited for a successful rural care 
coordination program: (1) Collaboration, (2) leadership and workforce, 
(3) improved outcomes, and (4) sustainability.
    1. Collaboration--Utilizing a collaborative approach to coordinate 
and deliver health care services through a consortium, in which member 
organizations actively engage in integrated, coordinated, patient-
centered delivery of health care services.
    2. Leadership and Workforce--Developing and strengthening a highly 
skilled care coordination workforce to respond to vulnerable 
populations' unmet needs within the rural communities.
    3. Improved Outcomes--Expanding access and improving care quality 
and delivery, and health outcomes through evidence-based model and/or 
promising practices tailored to meet the local populations' needs.
    4. Sustainability--Developing and strengthening care coordination 
program's financial sustainability by establishing effective revenue 
sources such as expanded service reimbursement, resource sharing, and/
or contributions from partners at the community, county, regional, and 
state levels.
    With the continuing shift in the healthcare environment towards 
provision of value-based care and utilization of reimbursement 
strategies through Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services quality 
reporting programs, the latest competitive Rural Health Care 
Coordination Program cohort also aligned with this shift. An increased 
number of sophisticated applicants leveraging increasingly intricate 
reporting methodologies for quality, data collection, utilization and 
analysis has resulted in an estimate of burden hours more in line with 
the realities of the health care landscape. In addition, the total 
number of responses has increased to 10 since the previous Notice of 
Award. This is due to a new Rural Health Care Coordination Program 
grant cycle with an increased number of awardees therefore an increased 
number of respondents.
    A 60-day notice published in the Federal Register on November 30, 
2020, vol. 85, No. 230; pp. 76585-86. There were no public comments.
    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 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 will speak to HRSA's 
progress toward meeting the goals set.
    Likely Respondents: The respondents would be recipients of the 
Rural Health Care Coordination Program funding.
    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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                                                                                      Average
                                     Number of       Number of         Total        burden per     Total burden
            Form name               respondents    responses per     responses     response (in        hours
                                                    respondent                        hours)
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Rural Health Care Coordination                10               1              10             3.5              35
 Grant Program Measures.........
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    Total.......................              10  ..............              10  ..............              35
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[[Page 29588]]

    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. 2021-11542 Filed 6-1-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P