Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 26964-26966 [2014-10752]
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emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
26964
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 91 / Monday, May 12, 2014 / Notices
available. The meeting will also be
webcast at www.bioethics.gov.
Under authority of Executive Order
13521, dated November 24, 2009, the
President established the Commission.
The Commission is an expert panel of
not more than 13 members who are
drawn from the fields of bioethics,
science, medicine, technology,
engineering, law, philosophy, theology,
or other areas of the humanities or
social sciences. The Commission
advises the President on bioethical
issues arising from advances in
biomedicine and related areas of science
and technology. The Commission seeks
to identify and promote policies and
practices that ensure scientific research,
health care delivery, and technological
innovation are conducted in a socially
and ethically responsible manner.
The main agenda item for the
Commission’s seventeenth meeting is to
discuss the BRAIN Initiative and
ongoing work in neuroscience.
The draft meeting agenda and other
information about the Commission,
including information about access to
the webcast, will be available at
www.bioethics.gov.
The Commission welcomes input
from anyone wishing to provide public
comment on any issue before it.
Respectful debate of opposing views
and active participation by citizens in
public exchange of ideas enhances
overall public understanding of the
issues at hand and conclusions reached
by the Commission. The Commission is
particularly interested in receiving
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down questions and comments for the
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during the scheduled meeting, the
Commission may make a random
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Written comments will also be
accepted in advance of the meeting and
are especially welcome. Please address
written comments by email to info@
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following address: Public Commentary,
Presidential Commission for the Study
of Bioethical Issues, 1425 New York
Avenue NW., Suite C–100, Washington,
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available, including any personally
identifiable or confidential business
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:00 May 09, 2014
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every effort to accommodate persons
who need special assistance.
Dated: April 29, 2014.
Lisa M. Lee,
Executive Director, Presidential Commission
for the Study of Bioethical Issues.
[FR Doc. 2014–10761 Filed 5–9–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4154–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality, HHS.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
Notice.
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:
‘‘Updating and Expanding the AHRQ QI
Toolkit for Hospitals.’’ In accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A)), AHRQ invites the public
to comment on this proposed
information collection.
SUMMARY:
Comments on this notice must be
received by July 11, 2014.
DATES:
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.
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports
Clearance Officer, (301) 427–1477, or by
email at doris.lefkowitz@ahrq.hhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
PO 00000
Frm 00032
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Proposed Project
Updating and Expanding the AHRQ QI
Toolkit for Hospitals
AHRQ has developed sets of Quality
Indicators (QIs) that can be used to
document quality and safety conditions
at U.S. hospitals. Three sets of QIs are
particularly relevant for hospitals and
include: The Inpatient Quality
Indicators (IQIs), the Patient Safety
Indicators (PSIs), and the Pediatric
Quality Indicators (PDIs). 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.
The PDIs measure the quality of
pediatric health care, mainly focusing
on preventable complications that occur
as a consequence of hospitalization
among pediatric patients. 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.
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. To this end, RAND has
previously contracted with AHRQ to
develop an AHRQ Quality Indicators
Toolkit for Hospitals (Toolkit). This
Toolkit is publicly available and is
posted on AHRQ’s Web site at https://
www.ahrq.gov/professionals/systems/
hospital/qitoolkit/. The
Toolkit assists hospitals in both using
the QIs and improving the quality and
safety of the care they provide, as
measured by those indicators. As such,
the Toolkit includes: (1) Instruction on
how a hospital can apply the QIs to its
inpatient data to estimate rates for each
indicator; (2) methods the hospital can
use to evaluate these QI rates for
identifying opportunities for
improvement; (3) strategies for
implementing interventions (or
evidence-based best practices); (4)
methods to measure progress and
performance on the QIs; (5) tools for
evaluating the cost-effectiveness of these
changes; and (6) discussion of the value
of using the QIs for quality
improvement as well as potential
challenges and barriers to quality
improvement efforts that incorporate the
QIs and how to help overcome them.
E:\FR\FM\12MYN1.SGM
12MYN1
26965
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 91 / Monday, May 12, 2014 / Notices
OMB approval was obtained for the
development and evaluation of the
original Toolkit in 2012, Development
and Evaluation of AHRQ’s Quality
Indicators Improvement Toolkit (OMB #
0935–0164), which consisted of a
protocol very similar to the one
described in this statement.
Since the release of the Toolkit in
2012, the QIs have been updated and
expanded, best practices have advanced,
and many hospitals have improved their
understanding of their quality
improvement needs as well as increased
their familiarity with the use of the
Toolkit. These factors all point to the
critical need to update the Toolkit.
AHRQ has funded RAND, which
partners with the University
HealthSystem Consortium (UHC), to
update and expand the Toolkit, and
field test the updated Toolkit with
hospitals as they carry out initiatives
designed to improve performance on the
QIs.
This research has the following goals:
(1) To assess the usability of the
updated Toolkit for hospitals—with an
emphasis on the Pediatric Quality
Indicators (PDI)—in order to improve
the Toolkit, and
(2) To examine hospitals’ experiences
in implementing interventions to
improve their performance on the
AHRQ QIs, the results of which will be
used to guide successful future
applications of the Toolkit.
This study is being conducted by
AHRQ through its contractor, the RAND
Corporation, under contract number
HHSA290201000017I, pursuant to
AHRQ’s statutory authority to conduct
and support research on healthcare and
on systems for the delivery of such care,
including activities with respect to the
quality, effectiveness, efficiency,
appropriateness and value of healthcare
services and with respect to quality
measurement and improvement. 42
U.S.C. 299a(a)(1) and (2).
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Method of Collection
To achieve the goals of this project the
following data collections will be
implemented:
(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 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 updated
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 updated Toolkit. This information
will be used in the revisions of the
updated Toolkit following the end of the
field test.
All the information obtained from the
proposed data collection will be used to
strengthen the updated Toolkit before
finalizing and disseminating it to
hospitals for their use. First, information
will be collected from the six hospitals
participating in the Toolkit field test
about their experiences in implementing
performance improvements related to
the AHRQ QIs, which will be used to
prepare experiential case examples for
inclusion in the Toolkit as a resource for
other hospitals. Second, feedback will
be elicited from them about the usability
of the Toolkit, which will be applied to
modify and refine the Toolkit so that it
is as responsive as possible to the needs
and priorities of the hospitals for which
it is intended.
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 with the six hospitals’
implementation teams at the start of the
year. Each hospital’s implementation
team is expected to consist of about 5
people. At the end of the year, post-test
interviews that last one hour each and
use the same protocol as the pre-test
interviews will be conducted during site
visits at the six hospitals with the
implementation team. Thus these 5
people of the implementation team at
each hospital will be interviewed twice,
both pre- and post-field test. At the posttest site visits, data will also be
collected through one-hour interviews
performed separately with 4 key
stakeholder groups—physicians, nurses,
clerks, and others—that are not on the
implementation team. Each stakeholder
group is expected to consist of about 5
people. Thus these 20 people from the
4 stakeholder groups at each hospital
will be interviewed once for one hour
post-field test. Interviewing these
additional stakeholder groups will
ensure that we gather information on
stakeholder variations in perceptions
and experiences, 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
total burden is estimated to be 240
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 $7,179.
EXHIBIT 1—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOURS
Number of
respondents
Data collection
Pre/Post-Test Interview Protocol with Implementation Team .........................
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Number of
responses per
respondent
30
E:\FR\FM\12MYN1.SGM
2
12MYN1
Hours per
response
Total burden
hours
1
60
26966
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 91 / Monday, May 12, 2014 / Notices
EXHIBIT 1—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOURS—Continued
Number of
respondents
Data collection
Number of
responses per
respondent
Hours per
response
Total burden
hours
Pre/Post-Test Interview Protocol with Stakeholder Groups ............................
Quarterly Update Protocol ...............................................................................
Usability Testing Protocol ................................................................................
120
12
24
1
3
1
1
1
1
120
36
24
Total ..........................................................................................................
186
NA
NA
240
EXHIBIT 2—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED COST BURDEN
Number of
respondents
Data collection
Total burden
hours
Average
hourly
wage rate *
Total cost
burden
Pre/Post-Test Interview Protocol (Implementation Team and Stakeholder
Groups) ........................................................................................................
Quarterly Update Protocol ...............................................................................
Usability Testing Protocol ................................................................................
150
12
24
180
36
24
$29.91
29.91
29.91
$5,384
1,077
718
Total ..........................................................................................................
186
240
NA
7,179
* Based upon the mean of the average wages taken from an average of hourly rates for occupations likely to be involved in the QI process
(registered nurses, nurse practitioners, medical records and health information technicians, statisticians, and health technologists and technicians). Statistics are taken from the General Medical and Surgical Hospitals industry category in the May 2012 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, accessed on January 22, 2014
[www.bls.gov/oes/].
Request for Comments
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
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 1, 2014.
Richard Kronick,
AHRQ Director.
[FR Doc. 2014–10752 Filed 5–9–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160–90–P
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:00 May 09, 2014
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
3. Health Care Research and Training
(HCRT)
Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality
Date: June 19–20, 2014 (Open from
8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. on June 19 and
closed for remainder of the meeting).
Notice of Meetings
4. Healthcare Information Technology
Research (HITR)
Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality (AHRQ), HHS.
Date: June 25–27, 2014 (Open from
5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on June 25 and
closed for remainder of the meeting).
AGENCY:
Notice of Five AHRQ
Subcommittee Meetings.
ACTION:
The subcommittees listed
below are part of AHRQ’s Health
Services Research Initial Review Group
Committee. Grant applications are to be
reviewed and discussed at these
meetings. Each subcommittee meeting
will commence in open session before
closing to the public for the duration of
the meeting. These meetings will be
closed to the public in accordance with
5 U.S.C. App. 2 section 10(d), 5 U.S.C.
552b(c)(4), and 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(6).
SUMMARY:
DATES:
See below for dates of meetings:
1. Healthcare Safety and Quality
Improvement Research (HSQR)
Date: June 17–18, 2014 (Open from
8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. on June 17 and
closed for remainder of the meeting).
2. Healthcare Effectiveness and
Outcomes Research (HEOR)
Date: June 18, 2014 (Open from 8:00
a.m. to 8:30 a.m. on June 18 and closed
for remainder of the meeting).
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Frm 00034
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
5. Health System and Value Research
(HSVR)
Date: June 26, 2014 (Open from 8:30
a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on June 26 and closed
for remainder of the meeting).
ADDRESSES: Hilton Washington DC/
Rockville Hotel & Executive Meeting
Center, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
MD 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: (To
obtain a roster of members, agenda or
minutes of the non-confidential portions
of the meetings.)
Mrs. Bonnie Campbell, Committee
Management Officer, Office of
Extramural Research Education and
Priority Populations, AHRQ, 540
Gaither Road, Suite 2000, Rockville,
Maryland 20850, Telephone (301) 427–
1554.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with section 10(a)(2) of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5
U.S.C. App. 2), AHRQ announces
meetings of the scientific peer review
groups listed above, which are
subcommittees of AHRQ’s Health
E:\FR\FM\12MYN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 91 (Monday, May 12, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26964-26966]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10752]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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: ``Updating and Expanding the AHRQ QI Toolkit for Hospitals.''
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-
13 (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 July 11, 2014.
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 email at
doris.lefkowitz@ahrq.hhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Proposed Project
Updating and Expanding the AHRQ QI Toolkit for Hospitals
AHRQ has developed sets of Quality Indicators (QIs) that can be
used to document quality and safety conditions at U.S. hospitals. Three
sets of QIs are particularly relevant for hospitals and include: The
Inpatient Quality Indicators (IQIs), the Patient Safety Indicators
(PSIs), and the Pediatric Quality Indicators (PDIs). 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. The PDIs measure the
quality of pediatric health care, mainly focusing on preventable
complications that occur as a consequence of hospitalization among
pediatric patients. 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.
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. To
this end, RAND has previously contracted with AHRQ to develop an AHRQ
Quality Indicators Toolkit for Hospitals (Toolkit). This Toolkit is
publicly available and is posted on AHRQ's Web site at https://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/systems/hospital/qitoolkit/. The
Toolkit assists hospitals in both using the QIs and improving the
quality and safety of the care they provide, as measured by those
indicators. As such, the Toolkit includes: (1) Instruction on how a
hospital can apply the QIs to its inpatient data to estimate rates for
each indicator; (2) methods the hospital can use to evaluate these QI
rates for identifying opportunities for improvement; (3) strategies for
implementing interventions (or evidence-based best practices); (4)
methods to measure progress and performance on the QIs; (5) tools for
evaluating the cost-effectiveness of these changes; and (6) discussion
of the value of using the QIs for quality improvement as well as
potential challenges and barriers to quality improvement efforts that
incorporate the QIs and how to help overcome them.
[[Page 26965]]
OMB approval was obtained for the development and evaluation of the
original Toolkit in 2012, Development and Evaluation of AHRQ's Quality
Indicators Improvement Toolkit (OMB 0935-0164), which
consisted of a protocol very similar to the one described in this
statement.
Since the release of the Toolkit in 2012, the QIs have been updated
and expanded, best practices have advanced, and many hospitals have
improved their understanding of their quality improvement needs as well
as increased their familiarity with the use of the Toolkit. These
factors all point to the critical need to update the Toolkit. AHRQ has
funded RAND, which partners with the University HealthSystem Consortium
(UHC), to update and expand the Toolkit, and field test the updated
Toolkit with hospitals as they carry out initiatives designed to
improve performance on the QIs.
This research has the following goals:
(1) To assess the usability of the updated Toolkit for hospitals--
with an emphasis on the Pediatric Quality Indicators (PDI)--in order to
improve the Toolkit, and
(2) To examine hospitals' experiences in implementing interventions
to improve their performance on the AHRQ QIs, the results of which will
be used to guide successful future applications of the Toolkit.
This study is being conducted by AHRQ through its contractor, the
RAND Corporation, under contract number HHSA290201000017I, pursuant to
AHRQ's statutory authority to conduct and support research on
healthcare and on systems for the delivery of such care, including
activities with respect to the quality, effectiveness, efficiency,
appropriateness and value of healthcare services and with respect to
quality measurement and improvement. 42 U.S.C. 299a(a)(1) and (2).
Method of Collection
To achieve the goals of this project the following data collections
will be implemented:
(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 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
updated 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 updated Toolkit. This information will be
used in the revisions of the updated Toolkit following the end of the
field test.
All the information obtained from the proposed data collection will
be used to strengthen the updated Toolkit before finalizing and
disseminating it to hospitals for their use. First, information will be
collected from the six hospitals participating in the Toolkit field
test about their experiences in implementing performance improvements
related to the AHRQ QIs, which will be used to prepare experiential
case examples for inclusion in the Toolkit as a resource for other
hospitals. Second, feedback will be elicited from them about the
usability of the Toolkit, which will be applied to modify and refine
the Toolkit so that it is as responsive as possible to the needs and
priorities of the hospitals for which it is intended.
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
with the six hospitals' implementation teams at the start of the year.
Each hospital's implementation team is expected to consist of about 5
people. At the end of the year, post-test interviews that last one hour
each and use the same protocol as the pre-test interviews will be
conducted during site visits at the six hospitals with the
implementation team. Thus these 5 people of the implementation team at
each hospital will be interviewed twice, both pre- and post-field test.
At the post-test site visits, data will also be collected through one-
hour interviews performed separately with 4 key stakeholder groups--
physicians, nurses, clerks, and others--that are not on the
implementation team. Each stakeholder group is expected to consist of
about 5 people. Thus these 20 people from the 4 stakeholder groups at
each hospital will be interviewed once for one hour post-field test.
Interviewing these additional stakeholder groups will ensure that we
gather information on stakeholder variations in perceptions and
experiences, 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 total
burden is estimated to be 240 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 $7,179.
Exhibit 1--Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of
Data collection Number of responses per Hours per Total burden
respondents respondent response hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre/Post-Test Interview Protocol with 30 2 1 60
Implementation Team............................
[[Page 26966]]
Pre/Post-Test Interview Protocol with 120 1 1 120
Stakeholder Groups.............................
Quarterly Update Protocol....................... 12 3 1 36
Usability Testing Protocol...................... 24 1 1 24
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................................... 186 NA NA 240
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exhibit 2--Estimated Annualized Cost Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Total burden Average hourly Total cost
Data collection respondents hours wage rate * burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre/Post-Test Interview Protocol (Implementation 150 180 $29.91 $5,384
Team and Stakeholder Groups)...................
Quarterly Update Protocol....................... 12 36 29.91 1,077
Usability Testing Protocol...................... 24 24 29.91 718
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Total....................................... 186 240 NA 7,179
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* Based upon the mean of the average wages taken from an average of hourly rates for occupations likely to be
involved in the QI process (registered nurses, nurse practitioners, medical records and health information
technicians, statisticians, and health technologists and technicians). Statistics are taken from the General
Medical and Surgical Hospitals industry category in the May 2012 National Industry-Specific Occupational
Employment and Wage Estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, accessed on
January 22, 2014 [www.bls.gov/oes/].
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 1, 2014.
Richard Kronick,
AHRQ Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-10752 Filed 5-9-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-P