[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 47 (Thursday, March 10, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13735-13736]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05122]


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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 January 3rd, 2021 and allowed 60 days for public comment. During the 
60 days, no substantive comments from members of the public were 
received by AHRQ. 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 11, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

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)

    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 eight 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 Pantheon Software, 
pursuant to AHRQ's statutory authority to conduct and support research 
on healthcare 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 project currently creates eight types of restricted access 
public release databases and related files that are released to 
authorized users under the terms of the HCUP Data Use Agreement (DUA). 
These HCUP databases and files are used by researchers for 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 achieves the restricted access public release and tracking of 
the HCUP databases through the Online Application Form for HCUP 
Products (https://www.distributor.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/SpecialPages/Shoppingcart.aspx). To access the eight types of database, HCUP users 
are required to complete the Online Application Form for HCUP Products 
which includes three components, the application, HCUP DUA training 
(https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/DUA/dua/index.html) and signing a HCUP 
DUA. Users are required to sign one of two DUAs: (1) Nationwide or (2) 
state (hereafter referred to collectively as the HCUP DUA) after they 
complete the HCUP DUA training.
    Information collected in the HCUP Online Application Form process 
will be used for two purposes only:
    1. Business Transaction: In order to deliver the HCUP databases to 
the applicants, contact information is necessary for shipping the data 
on disk (or any other media used in the future) and payment collection.
    2. Enforcement of the HCUP Data Use Agreement (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

[[Page 13736]]

from attempting to identify any persons in the data. Contact 
information on HCUP DUAs is retained in the event that a violation of 
the HCUP DUA takes place requiring legal remedy.

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 1,800 
persons will order HCUP data annually. Each of these persons will 
complete Online Application Order Form for HCUP products (30 minutes). 
The total burden for the Online Application Order Form is estimated to 
be 900 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 $39,879 annually.

                                  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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Total for the HCUP Data Purchase Ordering              1,800                1            30/60              900
 Form.......................................
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                                   Exhibit 2--Estimated Annualized Cost Burden
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                                                 Number of       Total burden   Average  hourly     Total cost
                                                respondents         hours         wage  rate *        burden
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Total.......................................           1,800              900           $44.31          $39,879
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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 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
  United States, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#19-0000.

Request for Comments

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520, 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's 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: March 7, 2022.
Marquita Cullom,
Associate Director.
[FR Doc. 2022-05122 Filed 3-9-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-P