Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 69341-69343 [E9-30957]
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 250 / Thursday, December 31, 2009 / Notices
performance of the function of the
agency, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of the agency’s
estimate of the burden of the proposed
collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and
assumptions used; (3) Ways to enhance
the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (4)
Ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including the use of
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Direct Comments to OMB: Written
comments and/or suggestions regarding
the item(s) contained in this notice,
especially regarding the estimated
public burden and associated response
time, should be directed to the
Attention: NIH Desk Officer, Office of
Management and Budget at
OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov or by
fax to 202–395–6974. To request more
information on the proposed project or
to obtain a copy of the data collection
plans and instruments, contact Nina
Goodman, Senior Public Health
Advisor, Office of Communications and
Education (OCE), NCI, NIH, 6116
Executive Blvd., Suite 400, Rockville,
MD 20892, call non-toll-free number
301–435–7789 or e-mail your request,
including your address to:
goodmann@mail.nih.gov.
Comments Due Date: Comments
regarding this information collection are
best assured of having their full effect if
received within 30 days of the date of
this publication.
Dated: December 21, 2009.
Kristine Miller,
NCI Project Clearance Liaison, National
Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. E9–31071 Filed 12–30–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality
erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: This notice announces the
intention of the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request
that the Office of Management and
VerDate Nov<24>2008
15:06 Dec 30, 2009
Jkt 220001
Budget (OMB) approve the proposed
information collection project:
‘‘Development and Evaluation of
AHRQ’s Quality Indicators
Improvement Toolkit.’’ In accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44
U.S.C. 3501–3520, AHRQ invites the
public to comment on this proposed
information collection.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be
received by March 1, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should
be submitted to: Doris Lefkowitz,
Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, by email 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
Development and Evaluation of
AHRQ’s Quality Indicators
Improvement Toolkit.
An important part of AHRQ’s mission
is to disseminate information and tools
that can support improvement in quality
and safety in the U.S. health care
community. See 42 U.S.C. 299(b)(1)(F);
299a(a)(1) and (2). This proposed
information collection supports that
part of AHRQ’s mission by developing
and evaluating a toolkit that will enable
hospitals to effectively use AHRQs
Quality Indicators (QIs).
AHRQ has developed sets of QIs that
can be used by the Agency and others
to document quality and safety
conditions at U.S. hospitals. Two sets of
QIs will be used in this proposed
toolkit: the Inpatient Quality Indicators
(IQIs) and the Patient Safety Indicators
(PSIs). The IQIs contain measures of
volume, mortality, and utilization for
common medical conditions and major
surgical procedures. The PSIs are a set
of measures to screen for potentially
preventable adverse events that patients
may experience during hospitalization.
These QIs have been previously
developed and evaluated by AHRQ, and
are in use at a number of hospitals
throughout the country. The QIs and
supportive documentation on how to
work with them are posted on AHRQ’s
Web site at
www.qualityindicators.ahrq.gov. Many
of the QIs have been endorsed by the
National Quality Forum through its
consensus review process.
PO 00000
Frm 00018
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
69341
Values for each QI can be estimated
for a given hospital by applying
computations in SAS programs
developed by AHRQ to the hospital’s
pre-existing inpatient encounter data.
To identify potential areas for
improving the quality and safety of the
care that a hospital provides, the
hospital can use these data to examine
its current performance on each QI
measure, changes in its performance
over time, and how its performance
compares to that of other hospitals.
However, despite the availability of the
QIs as tools to help hospitals assess
their performance, many U.S. hospitals
have limited experience with the use of
such measurement tools, or in using
quality improvement methods to
improve their performance as assessed
by these measures.
An alpha version of the Quality
Indicators Improvement Toolkit will be
developed, which then will be field
tested by six hospitals. During the field
test, the proposed evaluation will assess
the usability of the Toolkit for hospitals,
and it will examine their experiences in
implementing interventions to improve
their performance on the AHRQ QIs, as
well as effects on trends in the
hospitals’ AHRQ QI values. Using
results from the evaluation, the alpha
Toolkit will be revised to yield a final
Toolkit that will be effective in
supporting hospitals’ quality
improvement efforts.
The development and evaluation of
the Quality Indicators Improvement
Toolkit will be conducted by AHRQ’s
contractor, the RAND Corporation,
under contract number
HHSA2902006000 171. RAND has
subcontracted with the University
HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) to
partner in the development of the
Toolkit and field testing of it with
hospitals as they use the Toolkit in
carrying out initiatives designed to
improve performance on the QIs.
Method of Collection
Case study research methods will be
used for this qualitative study. The
following four data collection
instruments will be used in the
evaluation: (1) Pre/post-test interview
protocol—consisting of both open and
closed ended questions will be
administered prior to implementation of
the Toolkit and again post
implementation. The purpose of this
data collection is to obtain data on the
steps the hospitals took to implement
actions to improve performance on the
QIs; their plans for making process
changes; and their experiences in
achieving changes and perceptions
E:\FR\FM\31DEN1.SGM
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69342
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 250 / Thursday, December 31, 2009 / Notices
regarding lessons learned that could be
shared with other hospitals.
(2) Update protocol—consisting of
both open and closed ended questions
will be administered three times during
the study (quarterly during the
implementation year). The purpose of
this data collection is to capture
longitudinal data regarding hospitals’
progress in implementing changes,
successes and challenges, and plans for
subsequent actions. These data will
include descriptive information on
changes over time in the hospitals’
implementation actions and how they
are using the Toolkit, as well as
experiential information on the
perceptions of participants regarding the
improvement implementation process
and its effects. It also ensures the
collection of information close to
pertinent events, which avoids the
recall bias associated with retrospective
reporting of experiences.
(3) Usability testing protocol—also
consisting of both open and closed
ended questions will be administered
once at the end of the evaluation period.
The purpose of this data collection is to
gather information from the hospitals on
how they used each tool in the Toolkit,
the ease of use of each tool, which tools
as one-hour group interviews with three
of the hospitals and during site visits
with the other three hospitals. At each
site visit, data will be collected through
one-hour interviews with the hospital’s
implementation team as well as through
other group interviews performed
separately with each of the key
stakeholder groups—physicians, nurses,
clerks, and others. The additional data
from the stakeholder groups will allow
triangulation of variations in
perceptions and experiences among
different groups, of which the
implementation teams might not be
aware. The quarterly update protocol
will be administered quarterly to 2
hospital staff members from each
hospital during the year (in months 3,
6, and 9). The usability testing protocol
will be administered to 4 staff members
once at the end of the evaluation period.
The AHRQ QI data collection tool will
be used both pre- and postimplementation to collect the QI
measures. The total burden is estimated
to be 360 hours.
Exhibit 2 shows the estimated
annualized cost burden associated with
the respondents’ time to participate in
the evaluation. The total cost burden is
estimated to be $9,886.
were most helpful, suggested changes to
improve each tool, and suggestions for
other tools to add to the Toolkit. This
information will be used in the
revisions of the Toolkit following the
end of the field test.
(4) AHRQ QI data collection tool—
used to collect the IQI and PSI measures
calculated by the hospitals both prior to
implementation of the Toolkit and again
post implementation. The purpose of
this data collection is to determine if the
hospitals’ implementation actions,
including use of the toolkit, had a
measurable impact on the QI measures.
Estimated Annual Respondent Burden
Exhibit 1 shows the estimated
annualized burden hours for the
respondents’ time to participate in this
information collection. Three protocols
will be used to collect data from
respondents in interviews that will take
one hour each. The pre/post-test
interview protocol will be administered
twice—at the beginning and end of the
field-test year. The pre-test interviews
will be performed as one-hour group
interviews conducted with the six
hospitals’ implementation teams at the
start of the year. At the end of the year,
post-test interviews will be performed
EXHIBIT 1—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOURS
Number of
responses per
hours hospital
Number of
hospitals
Form name
Hours per
response
Total burden
hours
Pre/Post-Test Interview Protocol .....................................................................
Quarterly Update Protocol ...............................................................................
Usability Testing Protocol ................................................................................
AHRQ QI Data Collection Tool ........................................................................
6
6
6
6
26
6
4
2
1
1
1
*12
156
36
24
144
Total ..........................................................................................................
24
NA
NA
360
* Includes time to program and run the computer programs necessary to produce the measures.
EXHIBIT 2—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED COST BURDEN FOR HOSPITALS
Number of
hospitals
Form name
Total burden
hours
Average hourly wage rate *
Total cost
burden
Pre/Post-Interview Protocol .............................................................................
Quarterly Update Protocol ...............................................................................
Usability Testing Protocol ................................................................................
AHRQ QI Data Collection Tool ........................................................................
6
6
6
6
156
36
24
144
$27.46
27.46
27.46
27.46
$4,284
989
659
3,954
Total ..........................................................................................................
24
360
NA
9,886
erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES
* Based upon the mean of the average wages, National Compensation Survey: Occupational wages in the United States, March 2009, U.S.
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Used as an overall average wage rate across the various types of staff involved in the quality
improvements.
Estimated Annual Costs to the Federal
Government
Exhibit 3 shows the estimated total
and annualized cost of this project to
VerDate Nov<24>2008
15:06 Dec 30, 2009
Jkt 220001
the government. The estimated total cost
for the evaluation work is $209,827 over
the two-year year project, with an
annualized total cost of $104,914. These
costs were developed based on
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
estimates of staff days required, to
which administrative expenses are
applied, and based on airfare, hotel, and
per diem costs for staff travel for the site
visits at the end of the evaluation.
E:\FR\FM\31DEN1.SGM
31DEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 250 / Thursday, December 31, 2009 / Notices
69343
EXHIBIT 3—ESTIMATED COST OF THE EVALUATION
Cost component
Total cost
Annualized cost
Protocol Development .................................................................................................................................
Data Collection Activities .............................................................................................................................
Data Analysis ...............................................................................................................................................
Publication of Results ..................................................................................................................................
Travel for Site Visits ....................................................................................................................................
$40,278
91,104
45,252
24,370
8,823
$20,139
45,552
22,626
12,185
4,412
Total ......................................................................................................................................................
209,827
104,914
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 healthcare research and
healthcare 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: December 10, 2009.
Carolyn M. Clancy,
Director.
[FR Doc. E9–30957 Filed 12–30–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160–90–M
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
Government-Owned Inventions;
Availability for Licensing
erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY: National Institutes of Health,
Public Health Service, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The inventions listed below
are owned by an agency of the U.S.
Government and are available for
licensing in the U.S. in accordance with
35 U.S.C. 207 to achieve expeditious
commercialization of results of
federally-funded research and
VerDate Nov<24>2008
15:06 Dec 30, 2009
Jkt 220001
development. Foreign patent
applications are filed on selected
inventions to extend market coverage
for companies and may also be available
for licensing.
ADDRESSES: Licensing information and
copies of the U.S. patent applications
listed below may be obtained by writing
to the indicated licensing contact at the
Office of Technology Transfer, National
Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive
Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville,
Maryland 20852–3804; telephone: 301/
496–7057; fax: 301/402–0220. A signed
Confidential Disclosure Agreement will
be required to receive copies of the
patent applications.
Synergy of ABT–737 With an
Immunotoxin To Kill Cancer Cells
Description of Technology:
Programmed cell death (i.e., apoptosis)
represents an attractive approach for
treating cancer. However, anti-apoptotic
proteins that are frequently active in
cancer cells can allow the cells to
survive induction of apoptosis. While
inhibiting anti-apoptotic proteins has
shown promise in combination with
apoptosis-inducing treatments, current
inhibitors only show incomplete
effectiveness in promoting the induction
of apoptosis.
ABT–737 is one such inhibitor; it can
only inhibit the function of three of the
four major anti-apoptosis proteins. The
fourth member, known as a MCL1, is a
short-lived protein that can still prevent
apoptosis in the presence of ABT–737.
Importantly, because MCL1 is a shortlived protein, it requires protein
synthesis to maintain levels that are
sufficient to continue blocking
apoptosis.
This technology uses a combination
approach in the treatment of cancer. The
inventors considered that combining
ABT–737 with a protein synthesis
inhibitor might completely inhibit antiapoptotic proteins, leading to efficient
induction of apoptosis. Specifically,
NIH inventors found that combining
ABT–737 and immunotoxins did result
in enhanced killing of cancer cells.
Because immunotoxins function by
inhibiting protein synthesis, the two
PO 00000
Frm 00020
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
agents in combination are able to inhibit
all of the anti-apoptotic proteins
simultaneously. Furthermore,
immunotoxins can be specifically
targeted to cancer cells, thereby
increasing their effectiveness over a
non-specific protein synthesis inhibitor.
The results suggest that the combination
could represent an effective approach to
enhancing the induction of apoptosis as
an anti-cancer therapy.
Application: Combination anti-cancer
therapy.
Advantages:
• Overcomes the anti-apoptotic
proteins frequently associated with
inducing apoptosis, thereby leading to
an effective therapeutic approach.
• Synergistic effect improves toxicity
of both the apoptosis-inducing agents
and immunotoxins.
• Selective inhibition of protein
synthesis by immunotoxins increases
effectiveness versus using non-specific
inhibitors.
Development Status: Preclinical stage
of development.
Inventors: David J. FitzGerald (NCI) et
al.
Patent Status: U.S. Provisional
Application No. 61/238,032 (HHS
Reference No. E–279–2009/0–US–01).
For more information, see:
• Pastan et al., US Patent 4,892,827.
• Pastan et al., US Patent 5,705,163.
• Pastan et al., PCT Application PCT/
US2008/075296 (WO 2009/032954).
• JE Weldon et al. A proteaseresistant immunotoxin against CD22
with greatly increased activity against
CLL and diminished animal toxicity.
Blood 2009 Apr 16;113(16):3792–3800.
• DJ FitzGerald et al. Recombinant
immunotoxins for treating cancer. Int J
Med Microbiol. 2004 Apr;293(7–8):577–
582.
Licensing Status: Available for
licensing.
Licensing Contact: David A.
Lambertson, PhD; 301–435–4632;
lambertsond@mail.nih.gov.
Collaborative Research Opportunity:
The Center for Cancer Research,
Laboratory of Molecular Biology, is
seeking statements of capability or
interest from parties interested in
E:\FR\FM\31DEN1.SGM
31DEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 250 (Thursday, December 31, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69341-69343]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-30957]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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: ``Development and Evaluation of AHRQ's Quality Indicators
Improvement Toolkit.'' In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act,
44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, AHRQ invites the public to comment on this
proposed information collection.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by March 1, 2010.
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
Development and Evaluation of AHRQ's Quality Indicators Improvement
Toolkit.
An important part of AHRQ's mission is to disseminate information
and tools that can support improvement in quality and safety in the
U.S. health care community. See 42 U.S.C. 299(b)(1)(F); 299a(a)(1) and
(2). This proposed information collection supports that part of AHRQ's
mission by developing and evaluating a toolkit that will enable
hospitals to effectively use AHRQs Quality Indicators (QIs).
AHRQ has developed sets of QIs that can be used by the Agency and
others to document quality and safety conditions at U.S. hospitals. Two
sets of QIs will be used in this proposed toolkit: the Inpatient
Quality Indicators (IQIs) and the Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs). The
IQIs contain measures of volume, mortality, and utilization for common
medical conditions and major surgical procedures. The PSIs are a set of
measures to screen for potentially preventable adverse events that
patients may experience during hospitalization. These QIs have been
previously developed and evaluated by AHRQ, and are in use at a number
of hospitals throughout the country. The QIs and supportive
documentation on how to work with them are posted on AHRQ's Web site at
www.qualityindicators.ahrq.gov. Many of the QIs have been endorsed by
the National Quality Forum through its consensus review process.
Values for each QI can be estimated for a given hospital by
applying computations in SAS programs developed by AHRQ to the
hospital's pre-existing inpatient encounter data. To identify potential
areas for improving the quality and safety of the care that a hospital
provides, the hospital can use these data to examine its current
performance on each QI measure, changes in its performance over time,
and how its performance compares to that of other hospitals. However,
despite the availability of the QIs as tools to help hospitals assess
their performance, many U.S. hospitals have limited experience with the
use of such measurement tools, or in using quality improvement methods
to improve their performance as assessed by these measures.
An alpha version of the Quality Indicators Improvement Toolkit will
be developed, which then will be field tested by six hospitals. During
the field test, the proposed evaluation will assess the usability of
the Toolkit for hospitals, and it will examine their experiences in
implementing interventions to improve their performance on the AHRQ
QIs, as well as effects on trends in the hospitals' AHRQ QI values.
Using results from the evaluation, the alpha Toolkit will be revised to
yield a final Toolkit that will be effective in supporting hospitals'
quality improvement efforts.
The development and evaluation of the Quality Indicators
Improvement Toolkit will be conducted by AHRQ's contractor, the RAND
Corporation, under contract number HHSA2902006000 171. RAND has
subcontracted with the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) to
partner in the development of the Toolkit and field testing of it with
hospitals as they use the Toolkit in carrying out initiatives designed
to improve performance on the QIs.
Method of Collection
Case study research methods will be used for this qualitative
study. The following four data collection instruments will be used in
the evaluation: (1) Pre/post-test interview protocol--consisting of
both open and closed ended questions will be administered prior to
implementation of the Toolkit and again post implementation. The
purpose of this data collection is to obtain data on the steps the
hospitals took to implement actions to improve performance on the QIs;
their plans for making process changes; and their experiences in
achieving changes and perceptions
[[Page 69342]]
regarding lessons learned that could be shared with other hospitals.
(2) Update protocol--consisting of both open and closed ended
questions will be administered three times during the study (quarterly
during the implementation year). The purpose of this data collection is
to capture longitudinal data regarding hospitals' progress in
implementing changes, successes and challenges, and plans for
subsequent actions. These data will include descriptive information on
changes over time in the hospitals' implementation actions and how they
are using the Toolkit, as well as experiential information on the
perceptions of participants regarding the improvement implementation
process and its effects. It also ensures the collection of information
close to pertinent events, which avoids the recall bias associated with
retrospective reporting of experiences.
(3) Usability testing protocol--also consisting of both open and
closed ended questions will be administered once at the end of the
evaluation period. The purpose of this data collection is to gather
information from the hospitals on how they used each tool in the
Toolkit, the ease of use of each tool, which tools were most helpful,
suggested changes to improve each tool, and suggestions for other tools
to add to the Toolkit. This information will be used in the revisions
of the Toolkit following the end of the field test.
(4) AHRQ QI data collection tool--used to collect the IQI and PSI
measures calculated by the hospitals both prior to implementation of
the Toolkit and again post implementation. The purpose of this data
collection is to determine if the hospitals' implementation actions,
including use of the toolkit, had a measurable impact on the QI
measures.
Estimated Annual Respondent Burden
Exhibit 1 shows the estimated annualized burden hours for the
respondents' time to participate in this information collection. Three
protocols will be used to collect data from respondents in interviews
that will take one hour each. The pre/post-test interview protocol will
be administered twice--at the beginning and end of the field-test year.
The pre-test interviews will be performed as one-hour group interviews
conducted with the six hospitals' implementation teams at the start of
the year. At the end of the year, post-test interviews will be
performed as one-hour group interviews with three of the hospitals and
during site visits with the other three hospitals. At each site visit,
data will be collected through one-hour interviews with the hospital's
implementation team as well as through other group interviews performed
separately with each of the key stakeholder groups--physicians, nurses,
clerks, and others. The additional data from the stakeholder groups
will allow triangulation of variations in perceptions and experiences
among different groups, of which the implementation teams might not be
aware. The quarterly update protocol will be administered quarterly to
2 hospital staff members from each hospital during the year (in months
3, 6, and 9). The usability testing protocol will be administered to 4
staff members once at the end of the evaluation period. The AHRQ QI
data collection tool will be used both pre- and post-implementation to
collect the QI measures. The total burden is estimated to be 360 hours.
Exhibit 2 shows the estimated annualized cost burden associated
with the respondents' time to participate in the evaluation. The total
cost burden is estimated to be $9,886.
Exhibit 1--Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of
Form name Number of responses per Hours per Total burden
hospitals hours hospital response hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre/Post-Test Interview Protocol................ 6 26 1 156
Quarterly Update Protocol....................... 6 6 1 36
Usability Testing Protocol...................... 6 4 1 24
AHRQ QI Data Collection Tool.................... 6 2 *12 144
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................................... 24 NA NA 360
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Includes time to program and run the computer programs necessary to produce the measures.
Exhibit 2--Estimated Annualized Cost Burden for Hospitals
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Total burden Average hourly Total cost
Form name hospitals hours wage rate * burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre/Post-Interview Protocol..................... 6 156 $27.46 $4,284
Quarterly Update Protocol....................... 6 36 27.46 989
Usability Testing Protocol...................... 6 24 27.46 659
AHRQ QI Data Collection Tool.................... 6 144 27.46 3,954
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................................... 24 360 NA 9,886
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Based upon the mean of the average wages, National Compensation Survey: Occupational wages in the United
States, March 2009, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Used as an overall average wage rate
across the various types of staff involved in the quality improvements.
Estimated Annual Costs to the Federal Government
Exhibit 3 shows the estimated total and annualized cost of this
project to the government. The estimated total cost for the evaluation
work is $209,827 over the two-year year project, with an annualized
total cost of $104,914. These costs were developed based on estimates
of staff days required, to which administrative expenses are applied,
and based on airfare, hotel, and per diem costs for staff travel for
the site visits at the end of the evaluation.
[[Page 69343]]
Exhibit 3--Estimated Cost of the Evaluation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cost component Total cost Annualized cost
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocol Development.............. $40,278 $20,139
Data Collection Activities........ 91,104 45,552
Data Analysis..................... 45,252 22,626
Publication of Results............ 24,370 12,185
Travel for Site Visits............ 8,823 4,412
-------------------------------------
Total......................... 209,827 104,914
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 healthcare research and healthcare 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: December 10, 2009.
Carolyn M. Clancy,
Director.
[FR Doc. E9-30957 Filed 12-30-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-M
