Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 72063-72066 [2015-29440]
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 222 / Wednesday, November 18, 2015 / Notices
lighter lift contractors (600 hours
divided by 20 years).
In FY2014, there were 17,302
contractors, 3,460 (20 percent) with a
heavier lift and 13,842 (80 percent) with
a lighter lift:
Compliance Systems—Heavier Lift
Total Annual Responses: 3,460
Average Hours per Response: 55
Total Time Burden (Hours): 190,322
Total Cost Burden: $12,940,400
Compliance Systems—Lighter Lift
Total Annual Responses: 13,842
Average Hours per Response: 30
Total Time Burden (Hours): 415,248
Total Cost Burden: $28,237,680
Audits: The GSA Office of Inspector
General (OIG) performed an average of
59 pre-award audits of FSS contracts
between FY2012 and FY2014, according
to the OIG’s Semiannual Congressional
Reports over that time period.
Respondents to a 2012 Coalition for
Government Procurement survey
estimated that approximately 440–470
hours were spent preparing for audits
involving the PRC; the 455 hour figure
is the median point in the range:
GSA OIG Audits
Total Annual Responses: 59
Average Hours per Response: 455
Total Time Burden (Hours): 26,845
Total Cost Burden: $1,825,460
Price Reduction Notifications: 2,148
price reduction modifications were
completed in FY14, with each
modification requiring a notification
from the contractor. In a survey
conducted among GSA FSS contracting
officers, respondents estimated it took
an average of 4.25 hours to complete a
price reduction modification. GSA
believes FSS contractors bear a similar
burden for this task and is therefore
using the same burden estimate.
Price Reduction Notifications
Total Annual Responses: 2,148
Average Hours per Response: 4.25
Total Time Burden (Hours): 9,129
Total Cost Burden: $620,772
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Commercial Sales Practices Disclosures
The CSP burden results from
disclosures required of any contractor
submitting an offer for an FSS contract
or modifying an FSS contract to increase
prices, add items and Special Item
Numbers, or exercise options. GSA
attributed a negotiations burden to the
PRC in the previous information
collection, but is now including that
burden within the CSP disclosure
estimates.
The burden estimates for CSP
disclosures are based upon the estimates
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provided by respondents to the GSA
FSS contracting officer survey. While
the 77 survey respondents provided
estimates regarding the amount of time
it takes FSS contracting officers to
complete CSP-related tasks, GSA
believes FSS contractors bear a similar
burden for these tasks and is therefore
using the same burden estimates.
Pre-award Disclosures: In FY2014,
contractors submitted 3,464 offers for
FSS contracts, with 693 (20 percent)
offerors having a heavier lift (20
percent) and 2,771 (80 percent) with a
lighter lift:
Pre-award Disclosures—Heavier Lift
Total Annual Responses: 693
Average Hours per Response: 41.48
Total Time Burden (Hours): 28,746
Total Cost Burden: $1,954,704
Pre-award Disclosures—Lighter Lift
Total Annual Responses: 2,771
Average Hours per Response: 32.41
Total Time Burden (Hours): 89,808
Total Cost Burden: $6,106,951
Price Increase Modifications: In
FY2014, 2,509 price increase
modifications were processed, including
502 (20 percent) with a heavier lift and
2,007 (80 percent) with a lighter lift:
Price Increases—Heavier Lift
Total Annual Responses: 502
Average Hours per Response: 10.45
Total Time Burden (Hours): 5,246
Total Cost Burden: $356,721
Price Increases—Lighter Lift
Total Annual Responses: 2,007
Average Hours per Response: 9.71
Total Time Burden (Hours): 18,404
Total Cost Burden: $1,251,485
Adding Items and Special Item
Numbers (SINs): In FY2014, 6,861
modifications to add contract items or
SINs were processed, including 1,372
(20 percent) with a heavier lift and
5,489 (80 percent) with a lighter lift:
Addition Modifications—Heavier Lift
Total Annual Responses: 1,372
Average Hours per Response: 11.13
Total Time Burden (Hours): 15,270
Total Cost Burden: $1,038,384
Addition Modifications—Lighter Lift
Total Annual Responses: 5,489
Average Hours per Response: 10.65
Total Time Burden (Hours): 58,458
Total Cost Burden: $3,975,134
Exercising Options: In FY2014, 2,237
modifications to exercise options were
processed, including 447 (20 percent)
with a heavier lift and 1,790 (80
percent) with a lighter lift:
Option Modifications—Heavier Lift
Total Annual Responses: 447
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72063
Average Hours per Response: 26.14
Total Time Burden (Hours): 11,685
Total Cost Burden: $794,551
Option Modifications—Lighter Lift
Total Annual Responses: 1,790
Average Hours per Response: 22.32
Total Time Burden (Hours): 39,953
Total Cost Burden: $2,716,790
Total Annual Burden
The total estimated burden imposed
by Federal Supply Schedule pricing
disclosures is as follows:
Estimated Annual Time Burden (Hours)
Price Reductions Clause: 1,056,774
CSP Disclosures: 267,569
Total Annual Time Burden: 1,324,343
Estimated Annual Cost Burden
Price Reductions Clause: $71,860,632
CSP Disclosures: $18,194,721
Total Annual Cost Burden: $90,055,353
C. Public Comments
Public comments are particularly
invited on: Whether this collection of
information is necessary and whether it
will have practical utility; whether our
estimate of the public burden of this
collection of information is accurate,
and based on valid assumptions and
methodology; ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected.
Obtaining Copies Of Proposals:
Requesters may obtain a copy of the
information collection documents from
the General Services Administration,
Regulatory Secretariat Division (MVCB),
1800 F Street NW., Washington, DC
20405, telephone 202–501–4755. Please
cite OMB Control No. 3090–0235, Price
Reductions Clause, in all
correspondence.
Dated: November 12, 2015.
Jeffrey A. Koses,
Director, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office
of Government-wide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2015–29396 Filed 11–17–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820–61–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.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
This notice announces the
intention of the Agency for Healthcare
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 222 / Wednesday, November 18, 2015 / Notices
Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request
that the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) approve the proposed
changes to the currently approved
information collection project:
‘‘Consumer Assessment of Healthcare
Providers and Systems (CAHPS)
Clinician and Group Survey
Comparative Database.’’ In accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44
U.S.C. 3501–3521, AHRQ invites the
public to comment on this proposed
information collection.
This proposed information collection
was previously published in the Federal
Register on August 11, 2015 and
allowed 60 days for public comment.
AHRQ received one substantive
comment from the public.
The purpose of this notice is to allow
an additional 30 days for public
comment.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be
received by December 18, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should
be submitted to: AHRQ’s OMB Desk
Officer by fax at (202) 395–6974
(attention: AHRQ’s desk officer) or by
email at OIRA_submission@
omb.eop.gov (attention: AHRQ’s desk
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:
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Proposed Project
Consumer Assessment of Healthcare
Providers and Systems (CAHPS)
Clinician and Group Survey
Comparative Database
The CAHPS Clinician and Group
Survey (‘‘the CAHPS CG Survey’’) is a
tool for collecting standardized
information on patients’ experiences
with physicians and staff in outpatient
medical practices, enabling clinicians
and administrators to assess and
improve patients’ experiences with
medical care. The CAHPS CG survey is
a product of the CAHPS® program,
which is funded and administered by
AHRQ. AHRQ works closely with a
consortium of public and private
research organizations to develop and
maintain surveys and tools to advance
patient-centered care. CAHPS® is a
registered trademark of AHRQ. In 1999,
the CAHPS Consortium began work on
a survey that would assess patients’
experiences with medical groups and
clinicians. The CAHPS Consortium
developed a preliminary instrument
known as the CAHPS Group Practices
Survey (G–CAHPS), with input from the
Pacific Business Group on Health,
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whose Consumer Assessment Survey
established a precedent for this type of
instrument.
In August 2004, AHRQ issued a notice
in the Federal Register inviting
organizations to test the CAHPS CG
Survey. These field-test organizations
were crucial partners in the evolution
and development of the instrument, and
provided critical data illuminating key
aspects of survey design and
administration. In July 2007 the CAHPS
CG Survey was endorsed by the
National Quality Forum (NQF), an
organization established to standardize
health care quality measurement and
reporting. The endorsement represents
the consensus of many health care
providers, consumer groups,
professional associations, purchasers,
Federal agencies, and research and
quality organizations. The CAHPS CG
Survey and related toolkit materials are
available on the CAHPS Web site at
https://cahps.ahrq.gov/surveysguidance/cg/instructions/.
Since its release, the survey has been
used by thousands of physicians and
medical practices across the U.S.
The current CAHPS Consortium
includes AHRQ, the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS),
RAND, Yale School of Public Health,
and Westat.
AHRQ developed the database for
CAHPS CG Survey data following the
CAHPS Health Plan Database as a
model. The CAHPS Health Plan
Database was developed in 1998 in
response to requests from health plans,
purchasers, and CMS for comparative
data to support public reporting of
health plan ratings, health plan
accreditation and quality improvement
(OMB Control Number 0935–0165,
expiration 5/31/2017). Demand for
comparative results from the CG Survey
has grown as well, and therefore AHRQ
developed a dedicated CAHPS Clinician
and Group Database to support
benchmarking, quality improvement,
and research (OMB Control Number
0935–0197, expiration 06/30/2015).
The CAHPS Database contains data
from AHRQ’s standardized CAHPS
Surveys which provide comparative
measures of quality to health care
purchasers, consumers, regulators, and
policy makers. The CAHPS Database
also provides data for AHRQ’s annual
National Healthcare Quality and
Disparities Report.
Health systems, medical groups and
practices that administer the CAHPS
Clinician & Group Survey according to
CAHPS specifications can participate in
this project. A health system is a
complex of facilities, organizations, and
providers of health care in a specified
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geographic area. A medical group is
defined as a medical group,
Accountable Care Organization (ACO),
State organization or some other
grouping of medical practices. A
practice is an outpatient facility in a
specific location whose physicians and
other providers share administrative
and clinical support staff. Each practice
located in a building containing
multiple medical offices is considered a
separate practice.
The goal of this project is to renew the
CAHPS CG Database. This database will
continue to update the CAHPS CG
Database with the latest results of the
CAHPS CG Survey. These results
consist of 34 items that measure 5 areas
or composites of patients’ experiences
with physicians and staff in outpatient
medical practices. This database:
(1) Allows participating organizations
to compare their survey results with
those of other outpatient medical
groups;
(2) Provides data to medical groups
and practices to facilitate internal
assessment and learning in the quality
improvement process; and
(3) Provides information to help
identify strengths and areas with
potential for improvement in patient
care. The five composite measures are:
• Getting Timely Appointments, Care,
and Information
• How Well Providers Communicate
With Patients
• Helpful, Courteous, and Respectful
Office Staff
• Care Coordination
• Patients’ Rating of the Provider
The collection of information for the
CAHPS CG Database for Clinicians and
Groups is being conducted pursuant to
AHRQ’s statutory authority to conduct
and support research on health care and
systems for the delivery of such care,
including activities with respect to the
quality, effectiveness, efficiency,
appropriateness and value of health care
services; quality measurement and
improvement; and health surveys and
database development 42 U.S.C.
299a(a)(1), (2) and (8).
Method of Collection
To achieve the goal of this project, the
following activities and data collections
will be implemented:
(1) Registration Form—The purpose of
this form is to determine the eligibility
status and initiate the registration
process for participating organizations
seeking to voluntarily submit their
CAHPS CG Survey data to the CAHPS
CG Database. The point of contact (POC)
at the participating organization (or
parent organization) will complete the
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form. The POC is either a corporatelevel health care manager or a survey
vendor who contracts with a
participating organization to collect the
CAHPS CG Survey data.
(2) Data Use Agreement—The purpose
of this DUA is to obtain authorization
from participating organizations to use
their voluntarily submitted CAHPS CG
Survey data for analysis and reporting
according to the terms specified in the
Data Use Agreement (DUA). The POC at
the organization will complete the form.
Vendors do not sign the DUA.
(3) Data Submission—The number of
submissions to the database may vary
each year because medical groups and
practices may not administer the survey
and submit data each year. Data
submission is typically handled by one
POC who either is a health system,
medical group or practice or a survey
vendor who contracts with the medical
group or practice to collect their data.
After the POC has completed the
Registration Form and the Data Use
Agreement, they will submit their
patient-level data from the CAHPS CG
Survey to the CAHPS CG Database. Data
on the organizational characteristics
such as ownership, number of patient
visits per year, medical specialty, and
information related to survey
administration such as mode, dates of
survey administration, sample size, and
response rate, which are collected as
part of CAHPS CG Survey operations are
also submitted. Each submission will
consist of 3 data files: (1) A Group File
that contains information about the
group ownership and size of group, (2)
a Practice File containing type of
practice, the practice ownership and
affiliation (i.e., commercial, hospital or
integrated delivery system, insurance
company, university or medical school,
community health center, VA or
military) and number of patient visits
per year, and (3) a Sample File that
contains one record for each patient
surveyed, the date of visit, survey
disposition code and information about
survey completion.
Survey data from the CAHPS CG
Database is used to produce four types
of products: (1) An online reporting of
results available to the public on the
CAHPS Database Web site; (2)
individual participant comparative
reports that are confidential and
customized for each participating
organization that submits their data, (3)
an annual Chartbook that presents
summary-level results in a
downloadable PDF file; and (4) a dataset
available to researchers for additional
analyses.
Information for the CAHPS CG
Database has been collected by AHRQ
through its contractor Westat on an
annual basis since 2010. Participating
organizations are asked to voluntarily
submit their data to the CAHPS CG
Database each year. The data is cleaned
with standardized programs, then
aggregated and used to produce
comparative results. In addition, reports
are produced that compare the
participating organizations’ results to
the database in a password-protected
section of the CAHPS CG Database
online reporting system.
Estimated Annual Respondent Burden
Exhibit 1 shows the estimated burden
hours for the respondent to participate
in the CAHPS CG Database. The 20
POCs in exhibit 1 are the number of
estimated vendors. The 240 POCs in
exhibit 1 are the number of estimated
participating Health/Medical entities.
Each vendor will register online for
submission. The online Registration
form will require about 5 minutes to
complete. The data use agreement will
be completed by the 240 participating
Health/Medical entities. Vendors do not
sign DUAs. The DUA requires about 3
minutes to sign and return by fax, mail
or to upload directly in the submission
system. Each submitter will provide a
copy of their questionnaire and the
survey data file in the required file
format. Survey data files must conform
to the data file layout specifications
provided by the CAHPS CG Database.
The number of data submissions per
POC will vary because some may submit
data for multiple practices, while others
may submit data for only one. Once a
data file is uploaded the file will be
automatically checked to ensure it
conforms to the specifications and a
data file status report will be produced
and made available to the submitter.
Submitters will review each report and
will be expected to fix any errors in
their data file and resubmit if necessary.
It will take about one hour to complete
each file submission. The total burden
is estimated to be 454 hours annually.
EXHIBIT 1—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOURS
Number of
respondents/
POCs
Form name
Number of
responses for
each POC
Hours per
response
Total burden
hours
Registration Form ............................................................................................
Data Use Agreement .......................................................................................
Data Files Submission .....................................................................................
20
240
440
1
1
1
5/60
3/60
1
2
12
440
Total ..........................................................................................................
700
NA
NA
454
Exhibit 2 shows the estimated
annualized cost burden based on the
respondents’ time to complete the
submission process. The cost burden is
estimated to be $18,613 annually.
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EXHIBIT 2—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED COST BURDEN
Number of
respondents/
POCs
Form name
Registration Form ............................................................................................
Data Use Agreement .......................................................................................
Data Files Submission .....................................................................................
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Total burden
hours
20
240
20
E:\FR\FM\18NON1.SGM
2
12
440
18NON1
Average
hourly wage
rate*
39.75a
86.88b
39.75c
Total cost
burden
$80
$1043
$17,490
72066
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 222 / Wednesday, November 18, 2015 / Notices
EXHIBIT 2—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED COST BURDEN—Continued
Number of
respondents/
POCs
Form name
Total ..........................................................................................................
Total burden
hours
280
454
Average
hourly wage
rate*
NA
Total cost
burden
$18,613
* National Compensation Survey: Occupational wages in the United States May 2014, ‘‘U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.’’
a) and c) Based on the mean hourly wages for Computer Programmer (15–1131). b) Based on the mean hourly wage for Chief Executives (11–
1011). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#15–0000.
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 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.
Sharon B. Arnold,
Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. 2015–29440 Filed 11–17–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160–90–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services
[Document Identifiers: CMS–10433]
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
ACTION:
Notice.
The Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing
an opportunity for the public to
comment on CMS’ intention to collect
information from the public. Under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), federal agencies are required to
publish notice in the Federal Register
concerning each proposed collection of
SUMMARY:
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information, including each proposed
extension or reinstatement of an existing
collection of information, and to allow
a second opportunity for public
comment on the notice. Interested
persons are invited to send comments
regarding the 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.
DATES: Comments on the collection(s) of
information must be received by the
OMB desk officer by December 18, 2015:
ADDRESSES: When commenting on the
proposed information collections,
please reference the document identifier
or OMB control number. To be assured
consideration, comments and
recommendations must be received by
the OMB desk officer via one of the
following transmissions:
OMB, Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs
Attention: CMS Desk Officer
Fax Number: (202) 395–5806 OR
Email: OIRA_submission@
omb.eop.gov
To obtain copies of a supporting
statement and any related forms for the
proposed collection(s) summarized in
this notice, you may make your request
using one of following:
1. Access CMS’ Web site address at
https://www.cms.hhs.gov/
PaperworkReductionActof1995.
2. Email your request, including your
address, phone number, OMB number,
and CMS document identifier, to
Paperwork@cms.hhs.gov.
3. Call the Reports Clearance Office at
(410) 786–1326.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Reports Clearance Office at (410) 786–
1326.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA)
(44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), federal agencies
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must obtain approval from the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for each
collection of information they conduct
or sponsor. The term ‘‘collection of
information’’ is defined in 44 U.S.C.
3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and
includes agency requests or
requirements that members of the public
submit reports, keep records, or provide
information to a third party. Section
3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A)) requires federal agencies
to publish a 30-day notice in the
Federal Register concerning each
proposed collection of information,
including each proposed extension or
reinstatement of an existing collection
of information, before submitting the
collection to OMB for approval. To
comply with this requirement, CMS is
publishing this notice that summarizes
the following proposed collection(s) of
information for public comment:
1. Type of Information Collection
Request: Revision of a currently
approved information collection; Title
of Information Collection: Initial Plan
Data Collection to Support Qualified
Health Plan (QHP) Certification and
Other Financial Management and
Exchange Operations; Use: As required
by the CMS–9989–F, Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act; Establishment
of Exchanges and Qualified Health
Plans; Exchange Standards for
Employers (77 FR 18310) (Exchange
Establishment Rule), published on
March 27, 2012, each Exchange must
assume responsibilities related to the
certification and offering of Qualified
Health Plans (QHPs). To offer insurance
through an Exchange, a health insurance
issuer must have its health plans
certified as QHPs by the Exchange.
A QHP must meet certain minimum
certification standards, such as those
pertaining to essential community
providers, essential health benefits, and
actuarial value. In order to meet those
standards, the Exchange is responsible
for collecting data and validating that
QHPs meet these minimum
requirements as described in the
Exchange rule under 45 CFR parts 155
and 156, based on the Affordable Care
Act, as well as other requirements
determined by the Exchange. In
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 222 (Wednesday, November 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72063-72066]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29440]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
[[Page 72064]]
Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) approve the proposed changes to the currently approved
information collection project: ``Consumer Assessment of Healthcare
Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Clinician and Group Survey Comparative
Database.'' In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C.
3501-3521, AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed
information collection.
This proposed information collection was previously published in
the Federal Register on August 11, 2015 and allowed 60 days for public
comment. AHRQ received one substantive comment from the public.
The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for
public comment.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by December 18, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: AHRQ's OMB Desk
Officer by fax at (202) 395-6974 (attention: AHRQ's desk officer) or by
email at OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov (attention: AHRQ's desk 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
Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS)
Clinician and Group Survey Comparative Database
The CAHPS Clinician and Group Survey (``the CAHPS CG Survey'') is a
tool for collecting standardized information on patients' experiences
with physicians and staff in outpatient medical practices, enabling
clinicians and administrators to assess and improve patients'
experiences with medical care. The CAHPS CG survey is a product of the
CAHPS[supreg] program, which is funded and administered by AHRQ. AHRQ
works closely with a consortium of public and private research
organizations to develop and maintain surveys and tools to advance
patient-centered care. CAHPS[supreg] is a registered trademark of AHRQ.
In 1999, the CAHPS Consortium began work on a survey that would assess
patients' experiences with medical groups and clinicians. The CAHPS
Consortium developed a preliminary instrument known as the CAHPS Group
Practices Survey (G-CAHPS), with input from the Pacific Business Group
on Health, whose Consumer Assessment Survey established a precedent for
this type of instrument.
In August 2004, AHRQ issued a notice in the Federal Register
inviting organizations to test the CAHPS CG Survey. These field-test
organizations were crucial partners in the evolution and development of
the instrument, and provided critical data illuminating key aspects of
survey design and administration. In July 2007 the CAHPS CG Survey was
endorsed by the National Quality Forum (NQF), an organization
established to standardize health care quality measurement and
reporting. The endorsement represents the consensus of many health care
providers, consumer groups, professional associations, purchasers,
Federal agencies, and research and quality organizations. The CAHPS CG
Survey and related toolkit materials are available on the CAHPS Web
site at https://cahps.ahrq.gov/surveys-guidance/cg/instructions/. Since its release, the survey has been used by thousands of
physicians and medical practices across the U.S.
The current CAHPS Consortium includes AHRQ, the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), RAND, Yale School of Public Health,
and Westat.
AHRQ developed the database for CAHPS CG Survey data following the
CAHPS Health Plan Database as a model. The CAHPS Health Plan Database
was developed in 1998 in response to requests from health plans,
purchasers, and CMS for comparative data to support public reporting of
health plan ratings, health plan accreditation and quality improvement
(OMB Control Number 0935-0165, expiration 5/31/2017). Demand for
comparative results from the CG Survey has grown as well, and therefore
AHRQ developed a dedicated CAHPS Clinician and Group Database to
support benchmarking, quality improvement, and research (OMB Control
Number 0935-0197, expiration 06/30/2015).
The CAHPS Database contains data from AHRQ's standardized CAHPS
Surveys which provide comparative measures of quality to health care
purchasers, consumers, regulators, and policy makers. The CAHPS
Database also provides data for AHRQ's annual National Healthcare
Quality and Disparities Report.
Health systems, medical groups and practices that administer the
CAHPS Clinician & Group Survey according to CAHPS specifications can
participate in this project. A health system is a complex of
facilities, organizations, and providers of health care in a specified
geographic area. A medical group is defined as a medical group,
Accountable Care Organization (ACO), State organization or some other
grouping of medical practices. A practice is an outpatient facility in
a specific location whose physicians and other providers share
administrative and clinical support staff. Each practice located in a
building containing multiple medical offices is considered a separate
practice.
The goal of this project is to renew the CAHPS CG Database. This
database will continue to update the CAHPS CG Database with the latest
results of the CAHPS CG Survey. These results consist of 34 items that
measure 5 areas or composites of patients' experiences with physicians
and staff in outpatient medical practices. This database:
(1) Allows participating organizations to compare their survey
results with those of other outpatient medical groups;
(2) Provides data to medical groups and practices to facilitate
internal assessment and learning in the quality improvement process;
and
(3) Provides information to help identify strengths and areas with
potential for improvement in patient care. The five composite measures
are:
Getting Timely Appointments, Care, and Information
How Well Providers Communicate With Patients
Helpful, Courteous, and Respectful Office Staff
Care Coordination
Patients' Rating of the Provider
The collection of information for the CAHPS CG Database for
Clinicians and Groups is being conducted pursuant to AHRQ's statutory
authority to conduct and support research on health care and systems
for the delivery of such care, including activities with respect to the
quality, effectiveness, efficiency, appropriateness and value of health
care services; quality measurement and improvement; and health surveys
and database development 42 U.S.C. 299a(a)(1), (2) and (8).
Method of Collection
To achieve the goal of this project, the following activities and
data collections will be implemented:
(1) Registration Form--The purpose of this form is to determine the
eligibility status and initiate the registration process for
participating organizations seeking to voluntarily submit their CAHPS
CG Survey data to the CAHPS CG Database. The point of contact (POC) at
the participating organization (or parent organization) will complete
the
[[Page 72065]]
form. The POC is either a corporate-level health care manager or a
survey vendor who contracts with a participating organization to
collect the CAHPS CG Survey data.
(2) Data Use Agreement--The purpose of this DUA is to obtain
authorization from participating organizations to use their voluntarily
submitted CAHPS CG Survey data for analysis and reporting according to
the terms specified in the Data Use Agreement (DUA). The POC at the
organization will complete the form. Vendors do not sign the DUA.
(3) Data Submission--The number of submissions to the database may
vary each year because medical groups and practices may not administer
the survey and submit data each year. Data submission is typically
handled by one POC who either is a health system, medical group or
practice or a survey vendor who contracts with the medical group or
practice to collect their data. After the POC has completed the
Registration Form and the Data Use Agreement, they will submit their
patient-level data from the CAHPS CG Survey to the CAHPS CG Database.
Data on the organizational characteristics such as ownership, number of
patient visits per year, medical specialty, and information related to
survey administration such as mode, dates of survey administration,
sample size, and response rate, which are collected as part of CAHPS CG
Survey operations are also submitted. Each submission will consist of 3
data files: (1) A Group File that contains information about the group
ownership and size of group, (2) a Practice File containing type of
practice, the practice ownership and affiliation (i.e., commercial,
hospital or integrated delivery system, insurance company, university
or medical school, community health center, VA or military) and number
of patient visits per year, and (3) a Sample File that contains one
record for each patient surveyed, the date of visit, survey disposition
code and information about survey completion.
Survey data from the CAHPS CG Database is used to produce four
types of products: (1) An online reporting of results available to the
public on the CAHPS Database Web site; (2) individual participant
comparative reports that are confidential and customized for each
participating organization that submits their data, (3) an annual
Chartbook that presents summary-level results in a downloadable PDF
file; and (4) a dataset available to researchers for additional
analyses.
Information for the CAHPS CG Database has been collected by AHRQ
through its contractor Westat on an annual basis since 2010.
Participating organizations are asked to voluntarily submit their data
to the CAHPS CG Database each year. The data is cleaned with
standardized programs, then aggregated and used to produce comparative
results. In addition, reports are produced that compare the
participating organizations' results to the database in a password-
protected section of the CAHPS CG Database online reporting system.
Estimated Annual Respondent Burden
Exhibit 1 shows the estimated burden hours for the respondent to
participate in the CAHPS CG Database. The 20 POCs in exhibit 1 are the
number of estimated vendors. The 240 POCs in exhibit 1 are the number
of estimated participating Health/Medical entities.
Each vendor will register online for submission. The online
Registration form will require about 5 minutes to complete. The data
use agreement will be completed by the 240 participating Health/Medical
entities. Vendors do not sign DUAs. The DUA requires about 3 minutes to
sign and return by fax, mail or to upload directly in the submission
system. Each submitter will provide a copy of their questionnaire and
the survey data file in the required file format. Survey data files
must conform to the data file layout specifications provided by the
CAHPS CG Database. The number of data submissions per POC will vary
because some may submit data for multiple practices, while others may
submit data for only one. Once a data file is uploaded the file will be
automatically checked to ensure it conforms to the specifications and a
data file status report will be produced and made available to the
submitter. Submitters will review each report and will be expected to
fix any errors in their data file and resubmit if necessary. It will
take about one hour to complete each file submission. The total burden
is estimated to be 454 hours annually.
Exhibit 1--Estimated annualized burden hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Number of
Form name respondents/ responses for Hours per Total burden
POCs each POC response hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Registration Form............................... 20 1 5/60 2
Data Use Agreement.............................. 240 1 3/60 12
Data Files Submission........................... 440 1 1 440
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................................... 700 NA NA 454
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exhibit 2 shows the estimated annualized cost burden based on the
respondents' time to complete the submission process. The cost burden
is estimated to be $18,613 annually.
Exhibit 2--Estimated annualized cost burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Average
Form name respondents/ Total burden hourly wage Total cost
POCs hours rate* burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Registration Form............................... 20 2 39.75\a\ $80
Data Use Agreement.............................. 240 12 86.88\b\ $1043
Data Files Submission........................... 20 440 39.75\c\ $17,490
---------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 72066]]
Total....................................... 280 454 NA $18,613
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* National Compensation Survey: Occupational wages in the United States May 2014, ``U.S. Department of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics.'' a) and c) Based on the mean hourly wages for Computer Programmer (15-1131). b)
Based on the mean hourly wage for Chief Executives (11-1011). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#15-0000 0000.
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
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.
Sharon B. Arnold,
Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. 2015-29440 Filed 11-17-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-P
