[Federal Register: October 16, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 199)]
[Notices]
[Page 60712-60713]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16oc06-40]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Request for Measures of Consumers' Health Information Delivery
Experiences
AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), DHHS.
ACTION: Notice of request for measures.
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SUMMARY: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is
soliciting the submission of instruments or items that measure how well
health plans, hospitals, clinicians, and group practices address health
literacy issues. Based on a literature review and an assessment of
currently available questionnaires, AHRQ identified the need to develop
a new health literacy module of the CAHPS[supreg] survey. The intent of
the planned module is to examine patients' perspectives on how well
health information is communicated to them by healthcare professionals
in greater detail than before. The intent of the new module is to
provide information to health plans, hospitals, clinicians, group
practices, and other interested parties regarding quality of health
information delivered to patients.
Based on prior work, there are several functional areas that the
planned instrument could address. These include the clarity and
usability of provided health information related to: (a) Preventive
services (e.g., risk and benefits of the service, explanation of
screening results; (b) health problems/concerns (e.g., information on
how to stay healthy or prevent illness); (c) treatment choices,
instructions, or goals (e.g., pros and cons of each treatment option);
and (d) medications (e.g., reason for taking medications, instructions
on how to take medications, possible side effects). AHRQ is especially
interested in measures of patients' assessments of written
communications (e.g., instructions for self-care, health promotion
materials), and the use and effectiveness of educational techniques to
ensure patient's comprehension of health information (e.g., allowing
time for questions, repeating information, using visual aids, employing
health educators to review treatment plans and follow-up). AHRQ is also
interested in measures that assess the quality of services supporting
health information delivery such as language assistance (e.g.,
availability and timeliness of interpreter services, availability of
patient education materials in other language), and administrative
assistance (e.g., assistance in completing medical paperwork).
DATES: Please submit instruments or individual items and supporting
information on or before November 15, 2006. AHRQ will not respond
individually to submitters, but will consider all submitted instruments
and publicly report the results of the review of the submissions in
aggregate.
ADDRESSES: Submissions should include a brief cover letter, a copy of
the instrument or items for consideration and supporting information as
specified under the Submission Criteria below. Submissions may be in
the form of a letter or e-mail, preferably with an electronic file as
an e-mail attachment. Responses of this request should be submitted to:
Anna Caponiti, Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety,
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 540 Gaither Road,
Rockville, MD 20850, phone: (301) 427-
[[Page 60713]]
1402, fax: (301) 427-1341, e-mail: anna.caponiti@ahrq.hhs.gov.
To facilitate handling of submissions, please include full
information about the instrument developer or contact; (a) Name, (b)
title, (c) organization, (d) mailing address, (e) telephone number, (f)
fax number, and (g) e-mail address. Also, please submit a copy of the
instrument or items for consideration as well as evidence that they
meet the criteria below. It would be appreciated if each citation of a
peer-reviewed journal article pertaining to the instrument include the
title of the article, author(s), publication year, journal name,
volume, issue, and page numbers where article appears, but all of these
details are not required. Submitters must also provide a statement of
willingness to grant to AHRQ the right to use and authorize others to
use submitted measures and their documentation as part of a
CAHPS[supreg]-trademarked instrument. This CAHPS[supreg] instrument for
patients' perspectives on the quality of health information will be
made publicly available, free of charge. Electronic submissions are
encouraged.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna Caponiti, at the address above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background Information
The CAHPS[supreg] program was initiated in 1995 to develop a survey
and report on consumers' perspectives on the quality of their health
plans. Since that time, the CAHPS[supreg] program, in partnership with
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and others, has
expanded its scope and developed consumer surveys and reports regarding
consumer perspectives on individual clinicians, group practices, in-
center hemodialysis services, nursing homes and hospitals. AHRQ
determined that the CAHPS[supreg] teams should develop a survey to
obtain the consumers' perspective on the quality of health information.
The vision of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is to
foster health care research that helps the American health care system
provide access to high-quality, cost-effective services; be accountable
and responsive to consumers and purchasers; and improve health status
and quality of life. The CAHPS[supreg] program was developed as a
result of AHRQ's vision. One of the components not examined in the
current measurement set is an assessment of patients' perspectives on
how well health plans, hospitals, clinicians, and group practices
address health literacy issues.
Submission Criteria
Instruments submitted should focus on patient perspectives on
quality of health information provided by plans, hospitals, clinicians,
and/or group practices.
AHRQ is interested in measures that: (a) Assess patients' and their
caregivers' experiences receiving health information and (b)
demonstrate a high degree of reliability and validity. Accordingly,
each submission should include, in addition to the name of the
pertinent instrument, domains included, and the language(s) the
instrument is available in, the following information: Evidence of
cultural/cross group comparability, if any; instrument reliability
(internal consistency, test-retest, etc.); validity (content,
construct, criterion-related); response rates; methods and results of
cognitive testing and field-testing and description of sampling
strategies (including payer type); as well as data collection
protocols, including such elements as mode of administration, use of
advance letters, timing and frequencies of contacts. Evidence
addressing these criteria should be demonstrated through submission of
peer-reviewed journal article(s) or through the best evidence available
at the time of submission.
In addition, a list of where the instrument has been fielded should
also be included in the submission. Submission of copies of existing
report formats developed to disclose findings to consumers and
providers is desirable, but not required. Additionally, information
about existing database(s) for the instrument(s) submitted is helpful,
but not required for submission.
Submitters' willingness to grant to AHRQ the right to use and
authorize others to use their instrument or item and accompanying
explanatory material means that the CAHPS[supreg] trademark will be
applied to a new instrument which will combine the best features of the
submissions as well as any ideas that may develop from reviewing them,
and also free access to this instrument, and free access to the
instrument's supportive/administrative information will be ensured.
AHRQ, in collaboration with CAHPS grantees, will evaluate all submitted
instruments or items. As they construct the CAHPS instrument, they may
select one or more either in whole or in part or modify the items prior
to testing them. AHRQ will assume responsibility for the final
instruments as well as any future modifications.
The final instruments will bear the CAHPS[supreg] trademark and it
will be made available without charge for use by all interested
parties. Submitters will have relinquished ownership of any items that
appear in the final instrument. However, item ownership will be
protected during testing of the survey. As a matter of quality control,
there will be warnings that the CAHPS[supreg] trademark or
identification may not be used if any changes are made to the
instrument or final measure set without review and permission of the
agency.
Dated: October 5, 2006.
Carolyn M. Clancy,
Director.
[FR Doc. 06-8673 Filed 10-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-M