[Federal Register: February 20, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 34)]
[Notices]
[Page 9334-9335]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20fe08-73]
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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: Technical Assistance for Health IT and Health Information
Exchange in Medicaid and SCHIP. In accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), AHRQ invites the public
to comment on this proposed information collection.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by April 21, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: Doris Lefkowitz,
Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, by e-mail at
doris.lefkowitz@ahrq.hhs.gov.
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
Clearance Officer, (301) 427-1477, or by e-mail at
doris.lefkowitz@ahrq.hhs.gov
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Proposed Project
``Technical Assistance for Health IT and Health Information Exchange in
Medicaid and SCHIP''
AHRQ proposed a three year project to (1) assess the challenges
facing Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)
agencies nationwide as they plan and implement health information
technology (health IT) and health information exchange (HIE) programs
and (2) provide the agencies with technical assistance to help them
overcome these challenges. Health IT refers to the set of electronic
tools and methods used for managing information about the health and
health care of individuals, groups of individuals, and communities. HIE
refers to organized efforts at the local, state, or regional levels to
establish the necessary policy, business, operating, and technical
mechanisms and structures that allow, support, and promote the exchange
of health care information electronically across organizations. Health
IT and HIE hold great promise for improving the quality and efficiency
of health care in the United States. Medicaid and SCHIP agencies, which
receive federal and state funding, serve the most medically and
financially vulnerable populations. More than sixty percent of Medicaid
beneficiaries have one or more chronic or disabling diseases. In
addition, Medicaid and SCHIP beneficiaries frequently experience gaps
in eligibility for benefits that cause beneficiaries to seek care from
multiple settings, which compromises the accuracy and completeness of
their health care records. These populations have much to gain from the
coordination of care that can be realized from the adoption of health
IT and HIE. Furthermore, as the largest health care purchaser in the
United States, Medicaid can influence the adoption of health IT and HIE
by providers of care. However, Medicaid and SCHIP agencies face
considerable challenges in the implementation of health IT and HIE
(Alfreds ST, Tutty M, Savageau JA, Young S. Himmelstein J (2006-2007).
``Clinical Health Information Technologies and the Role of Medicaid.''
Health Care Financing Review Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 11-20.).
A needs assessment of the Medicaid and SCHIP agencies in all fifty
six states and territories, including the District of Columbia, will be
conducted to gauge the need for technical assistance. The needs
assessment will be updated in the second year of the project to assure
that the program of technical assistance that is developed will be of
maximum utility to the Medicaid and SCHIP agencies.
AHRQ will develop and provide a wide range of technical assistance
[[Page 9335]]
through workshops and web-based seminars to assist Medicaid and SCHIP
agencies to adopt, implement and evaluate health IT and HIE to improve
the quality of care for Medicaid and SCHIP beneficiaries. Based on the
results of the needs assessment, workshops and web-based seminars, AHRQ
will develop additional tools and resources, such as printed technical
materials, to further facilitate the adoption of health IT and HIE
among Medicaid and SCHIP agencies.
Method of Collection
The needs assessments will be conducted by telephone or in-person
interviews with the directors of each Medicaid and SCHIP agency or with
the persons designated by the director as most knowledgeable about
their IT systems and planned or current health IT or HIE programs. The
content of the needs assessment will be the same whether it is
conducted by telephone or in person, and will be pre-populated to the
extent possible with information gathered from other sources to reduce
the burden on respondents, who can then simply verify that the
information is correct. Workshop and seminar participants will be asked
to complete a short evaluation of the material presented.
Estimated Annual Respondent Burden
Exhibit 1 shows the estimated annualized burden for this three-year
project. The needs assessment will be conducted with an average of
thirty agencies per year and will require approximately four hours and
ten minutes per agency. Approximately seven workshops will be conducted
each year with five agencies participating in each. The workshop
evaluations will take approximately fifty minutes to complete. An
average of ten web-based seminars will be conducted each year with
twenty-five agencies participating in each. The seminar evaluations
will take approximately twenty-five minutes to complete. The total
annual burden for the respondents to provide the requested information
is 260 hours.
Exhibit 2 shows the estimated annualized cost burden to the
respondents for their time to provide the requested information. The
total annualized cost burden is estimated to be $10,506.
Exhibit 1.--Estimated Annualized Burden
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Number of Number of Average burden
Data collection respondents responses per hours per Total burden
(agencies) respondent response hours
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Needs Assessment................................ 30 1 410/60 125
Workshop evaluations............................ 5 7 50/60 30
Web-based seminar evaluations................... 25 10 25/60 105
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Total....................................... 60 na na 260
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Exhibit 2.--Estimated Annualized Cost Burden
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Number of
Form name respondents Total burden Hourly wage Total cost
(agencies) hours rate burden
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Needs Assessment................................ 30 125 40.41 $5,051
Workshop evaluations............................ 5 30 40.41 1,212
Web-based seminar evaluations................... 25 105 40.41 4,243
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Total....................................... 60 260 .............. 10,506
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* Based upon the mean hourly wage estimate for NAICS 999000--Federal, State, and Local Government (OES
designation) occupation 11-1021 General and Operations Managers, Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
Estimated Annual Costs to the Federal Government
The projected total cost to the Federal Government for this project
is $2,990,592 over a three-year period. The projected annual average
cost is $996,864. The projected annual cost to design and implement the
needs assessment is $180,799. The projected annual cost to develop and
implement with workshops is $271,254. The projected annual cost to
develop and implement the seminars is $98,187. The projected annual
cost to analyze the data and report findings is $132,005. The projected
annual administrative cost is $41,973, and the projected annual cost
for other technical assistance support is $272,645.
Request for Comments
In accordance with the above-cited Paperwork Reduction Act
legislation, 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 to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on he 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: February 8, 2008.
Carolyn M. Clancy, MD
Director
[FR Doc. 08-737 Filed 2-19-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-M