Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: Public Comment Request Information Collection Request Title: Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program, OMB No. 0915-0387-Extension

AGENCY:

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public comment on the proposed data collection projects of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA plans to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks comments from the public regarding the burden estimate, below, or any other aspect of the ICR.

DATES:

Comments on this ICR should be received no later than April 26, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments to paperwork@hrsa.gov or mail the HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, Room 14N136B, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and draft instruments, email paperwork@hrsa.gov or call Lisa Wright-Solomon, the HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at (301) 443-1984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

When submitting comments or requesting information, please include the information request collection title for reference.

Information Collection Request Title: Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program, OMB No. 0915-0387—Extension.

Abstract: This program is authorized by Title III, Public Health Service Act, Section 330A(g) (42 U.S.C. 254c(g)), as amended. This authority authorizes HRSA's Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to issue grants that expand access to, coordinate, contain the cost of, and improve the quality of essential health care services, including preventive and emergency services, through the development of health care networks in rural and frontier areas and regions. Across these various programs, the authority allows HRSA to provide funds to rural communities to support the direct delivery of health care and related services, expand existing services, or enhance health service delivery through education, promotion, and prevention programs.

The purpose of the Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Grant (Rural Quality) Program is to provide support to rural primary care providers for implementation of quality improvement activities. The goal of the program is to promote the development of an evidence-based culture and delivery of coordinated care in the primary care setting. Additional objectives of the program include improved health outcomes for patients, enhanced chronic disease management, and better engagement of patients and their caregivers. Organizations participating in the program are required to use an evidence-based quality improvement model, perform tests of change focused on improvement, and use health information technology (HIT) to collect and report data. HIT may include an electronic patient registry or an electronic health record, and is a critical component for improving quality and patient outcomes. With HIT it is possible to generate timely and meaningful data, which helps providers track and plan care.

Need and Proposed Use of the Information: For this program, performance measures were drafted to provide data to the program and to enable HRSA to provide aggregate program data required by Congress under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993. These measures cover the principal topic areas of interest to the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, including: (a) Access to care; (b) population demographics; (c) staffing; (d) consortium/network; (e) sustainability; and (f) project specific domains. All measures speak to HRSA's progress toward meeting the goals set.

HRSA collects this information to quantify the impact of grant funding on access to health care, quality of services, and improvement of health outcomes. HRSA uses the data for program improvement and grantees use the data for performance tracking. No changes are proposed from the current data collection effort.

Likely Respondents: The respondents would be recipients of the Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program.

Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or provide the information requested. This includes the time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for this ICR are summarized in the table below.

HRSA specifically requests comments on: (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.