[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 116 (Tuesday, June 17, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34535-34537]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-14082]
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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: ``The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Health
Care Innovations Exchange Innovator Interview and Innovator Email
Submission Guidelines.'' In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, AHRQ invites the public to comment on this
proposed information collection.
This proposed information collection was previously published in
the Federal Register on March 28th, 2014 and allowed 60 days for public
comment. No comments were received. The purpose of this notice is to
allow an additional 30 days for public comment.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by July 17, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: Doris Lefkowitz,
Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, by email at
[email protected].
Copies of the proposed collection plans, data collection
instruments, and specific details on the estimated burden can be
obtained from the AHRQ Reports Clearance Officer.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports
[[Page 34536]]
Clearance Officer, (301) 427-1477, or by email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Proposed Project
``The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Health Care
Innovations Exchange Innovator Interview and Innovator Email Submission
Guidelines.''
This request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review is
for renewal of the existing collection that is currently approved under
OMB Control No. 0935-0147, AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange
Innovator Interview and AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange Innovator
Email Submission Guidelines, which expires on May 31, 2014.
The Health Care Innovations Exchange provides a national-level
information hub to foster the implementation and adaptation of
innovative strategies and policies that improve health care quality and
reduce disparities in the care received by different populations. The
Innovations Exchange's target audiences, broadly defined, are current
and potential change agents in the U.S. health care system, including
clinicians (e.g., physicians, nurses, and other providers), health care
administrators, quality improvement professionals, researchers,
educators, and policymakers.
The goals of the Health Care Innovations Exchange are to:
(1) Identify health care service delivery and policy innovations
and provide a national level repository of searchable innovations and
tools that enables health care decision makers to quickly identify
ideas and tools that meet their needs. These innovations come from many
care settings including inpatient facilities, outpatient facilities,
long term care organizations, health plans, and community care
settings. They also represent many patient populations, disease
conditions, and processes of care such as preventive, acute, and
chronic care.
(2) Foster the implementation and adoption of health care service
delivery and policy innovations that improve health care quality and
reduce disparities in the care received by different populations.
This data collection is being conducted by AHRQ through its
contractor, Westat, pursuant to AHRQ's statutory authority (1) to
conduct and support research on, and disseminate information on, health
care and on systems for the delivery of such care, 42 U.S.C. 299a(a),
and (2) to promote innovation in evidence-based health care practices
and technologies by promoting education and training and providing
technical assistance in the use of health care practice results, 42
U.S.C. 299b-5(a)(4).
Method of Collection
To achieve the first goal of the Innovations Exchange the following
data collections will be implemented:
(1) Email submission--Based on experience during the current
approval period, approximately 10% of the health care innovations
considered for inclusion annually, and their associated innovators,
will submit their innovations via email to the Innovations Exchange
without prior contact (about 8 annually). Innovators who submit their
innovations for possible publication through the email submission
process will be considered as will innovations identified by project
staff through an array of sources that include: published literature,
conference proceedings, news items, list serves, Federal agencies and
other government programs and resources, health care foundations, and
health care associations.
To meet the publication target of 75 new innovation
profiles per year, a purposive sample of approximately 76 health care
innovations will be identified and selected annually, in addition to
the email submissions, for a total of 84 innovations considered
annually for potential consideration. These innovations will be
selected to ensure that innovations included in the Innovations
Exchange cover a broad range of health care settings, care processes,
policies, priority populations, and clinical conditions. Based on
experience, approximately 10% of the candidate innovations either will
not meet the inclusion criteria or their innovators will decide not to
continue their participation after the interview. Therefore, 90% (75)
of the 84 candidate innovations will move into the publication stage
each year.
(2) Health care innovator interview--To collect and verify the
information required for the innovation profiles, health care
innovators will be interviewed by telephone about the following aspects
of their innovation: health care problem addressed, impetus for the
innovation, goals of the innovation, description of the innovation,
sources of funding, evaluation results for the innovation, setting for
the innovation, history of planning and implementation for the
innovation, and lessons learned concerning the implementation of the
innovation. Interviews will be conducted with innovators identified by
project staff and those identified through email submission.
(3) Annual follow-up reviews--After the innovation profile is
published, on a yearly basis, innovators will be contacted by email to
review and update their profiles.
The ultimate decision to publish a detailed profile of an
innovation depends on several factors, including an evaluation by AHRQ,
AHRQ's priorities, and the number of similar ideas in the Innovations
Exchange. AHRQ's priorities include identifying and highlighting
innovations (1) that will help reduce disparities in health care and
health status; (2) that will have significant impact on the overall
value of health care; (3) where the innovators have a strong interest
in participating; and (4) that have been supported by AHRQ.
The AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange's use of the interview
guide and email submission guidelines assists in determining if the
suggested innovation: (1) Meets established eligibility criteria of the
Innovation Exchange, and (2) addresses AHRQ's priorities.
Access to the AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange is freely
available to the public at http://www.innovations.ahrq.gov/. Diverse
groups use the Innovations Exchange, ranging from nurses and health
administrators, quality improvement professionals, researchers and
educators. See http://www.innovations.ahrq.gov/aboutaspx which displays
information about Innovations Exchange users by role for 2012-2013.
Estimated Annual Respondent Burden
Exhibit 1 shows the estimated annualized burden hours for the
respondents' time to participate in this project. Approximately 84
innovators will participate in the initial data collection each year
with 75 of those being published to the Innovations Exchange Web site.
About 8 innovations will be submitted by email, which requires 30
minutes. All 84 potential innovators will participate in the health
care innovator interview, including the 8 submitted via email. The
interview will last about 75 minutes, and an average additional 30
minutes is typically required for the innovator to review, comment on,
and approve the written profile.
Based on experience, approximately 10% of the candidate innovations
either will not meet the inclusion criteria or their innovators will
decide not to continue their participation after the interview.
Therefore, 90% (75) of the 84 candidate innovations will move into
[[Page 34537]]
the publication stage each year. Annual follow-up reviews will be
conducted with all innovations that have been in the Innovations
Exchange for at least one full year. With an expected total of 825
innovations in the Exchange by the end of the current approval period,
and an additional 225 to be added over the course of the next 3-year
approval period (75 per year), an average of 800 reviews will be
conducted annually and will require about 15 minutes to complete. The
number of profiles undergoing annual review will increase annually from
825 in the first year, to 900 in the second year, and 975 in the third
year. The average annualized number of annual follow-up reviews is
projected to be 800 as it is anticipated that approximately 100
profiles will be archived over three years. Archived profiles are
excluded from annual review. The total annualized burden is estimated
to be 347 hours.
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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Email submission................................ 8 1 30/60 4
Health care innovator interview................. 84 1 75/60 105
Innovator review and approval of written profile 75 1 30/60 38
Annual follow-up reviews........................ 800 1 15/60 200
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Total....................................... 967 .............. .............. 347
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Exhibit 2 shows the estimated annualized cost burden associated
with the respondents' time to participate in this project. The total
annualized cost burden is estimated to be $21,220.
Exhibit 2--Estimated Annualized Cost Burden
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Average
Form name Number of Total burden hourly wage Total cost
respondents hours rate * burden
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Email submission................................ 8 4 $61.15 $245
Health care innovator interview................. 84 105 61.15 6,421
Innovator review and approval of written profile 75 38 61.15 2,324
Annual follow-up reviews........................ 800 200 61.15 12,230
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Total....................................... 967 347 .............. 21,220
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* Average hourly wage rate for health care innovators is based upon statistics from the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2012 (http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes290000.htm), and was calculated as an average of the mean hourly wage rate for Family and General
Practitioners and the mean hourly wage for all occupations in the major group, ``Healthcare Practitioners and
Technical Occupations''.
Request for Comments
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 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 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: May 29, 2014.
Richard Kronick,
AHRQ Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-14082 Filed 6-16-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-M