[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 24 (Monday, February 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7724-7725]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02242]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, HRSA announces 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 5, 
2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to [email protected] or mail the HRSA 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Room 14N39, 5600 Fishers 
Lane, Rockville, Maryland 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 Joella Roland, the 
HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, at (301) 443-3983.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting 
information, please include the ICR 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 the Public Health Service 
Act, section 330A(g) (42 U.S.C. 254c(g)). This authority permits the 
Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) to award Small Health 
Care Provider Quality Improvement grants that expand access to, 
coordinate, and improve the quality of basic health care services, and 
enhance the delivery of health care, in rural areas. Specifically, 
FORHP may award grants to provide for the planning and implementation 
of Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement activities, including 
activities related to increasing care coordination, enhancing chronic 
disease management, and improving patient health outcomes.
    The purpose of the Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement 
Grant 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 
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. HRSA collects information from 
grant recipients that participate in this program using an OMB-approved 
set of performance measures and seeks to extend its approved 
information collection.
    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 FORHP, 
including: (1) access to care, (2) population demographics, (3) 
staffing, (4) consortium/network, (5) sustainability, and (6) project 
specific domains. All measures will speak to FORHP's progress toward 
meeting the goals set. FORHP collects this information to quantify the 
impact of grant funding on access to health care, quality of services, 
and improvement of health outcomes. FORHP uses the data for program 
improvement and grantees use the data for performance tracking. No 
changes are proposed from the current data collection effort, but FORHP 
estimates fewer respondents to align with the current cohort of 
grantees.
    Likely Respondents: The respondents would be the grant recipients 
(program grantees, not patients who receive health care services) of 
the Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program grants.
    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

[[Page 7725]]

hours estimated for this ICR are summarized in the table below.

                                     Total Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Number of                    Average burden
            Form name                Number of     responses per       Total       per response    Total burden
                                    respondents     respondent       responses      (in hours)         hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Performance Improvement and                   21               1              21               8             168
 Measurement Systems (PIMS).....
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................              21               1              21               8             168
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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. 2024-02242 Filed 2-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P