[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 82 (Thursday, April 28, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 23816]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-10251]



[[Page 23816]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

[Document Identifier OS-0990-New]


Agency Information Collection Request; 60-Day Public Comment 
Request

    Agency: Office of the Secretary, HHS.
    In compliance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Secretary (OS), 
Department of Health and Human Services, is publishing the following 
summary of a proposed information collection request for public 
comment. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding this 
burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, 
including any of the following subjects: (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.
    To obtain copies of the supporting statement and any related forms 
for the proposed paperwork collections referenced above, e-mail your 
request, including your address, phone number, OMB number, and OS 
document identifier, to [email protected], or call the 
Reports Clearance Office on (202) 690-6162. Written comments and 
recommendations for the proposed information collections must be 
directed to the OS Paperwork Clearance Officer at the above e-mail 
address within 60-days.
    Proposed Project: Assessing the Availability of Primary Care 
Physicians Accepting New Patients and Timeliness of Services for New 
Patients Using a Mystery Shopper Approach--OMB No. 0990-NEW--Assistant 
Secretary Planning Evaluation (ASPE).
    Abstract: The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and 
Evaluation (ASPE) is requesting Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approval on a new collection to utilize a mystery shopper approach to 
collect data from physician offices in order to accurately gauge 
availability of Primary Care Physicians (PCPs) accepting new patients, 
assess the timeliness of services from PCPs, and gain insight into the 
precise reasons that PCP availability is lacking. This study will 
provide current information on the availability and accessibility of 
PCPs to publicly and privately insured patients with a range of medical 
needs. To conduct this study, ASPE will contact 465 PCPs in each of the 
nine selected states. Each PCP's office will be contacted twice; once 
using a privately insured patient scenario, and once using a publicly 
insured patient scenario. The scenarios will simulate requests for an 
appointment with the sampled PCP from a new patient with both public or 
private insurance and either an urgent medical concern or routine exam 
appointment. A standard protocol will accompany each patient scenario, 
ensuring that the key research questions are addressed and the 
necessary standardized information from the calls is collected. 
Additionally, 465 PCPs across all the nine states will be contacted a 
third time using a direct questioning approach. These physicians will 
be informed about the study and asked directly if they are accepting 
new patients and how long it would take to obtain an appointment. The 
purpose of this additional data collection component is to evaluate the 
validity of the mystery shopper approach in generating accurate 
estimates of physician availability and timeliness of services. Data 
collection activities will be completed within 4 months of OMB 
Clearance.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Table
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                                     Number of     Responses per       Total         Hours per     Total burden
       Type of respondent           respondents     respondent       responses       response          hours
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PCP Office Staff (Mystery                  4,185               2           8,370            5/60             698
 Shopper).......................
PCP Office Staff (Direct                     465               1             465            5/60              39
 Questioning)...................
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    Total.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             737
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Mary Forbes,
Paperwork Reduction Act Reports Clearance Officer, Office of the 
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-10251 Filed 4-27-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-05-P