E9-1435. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

In compliance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is publishing the following summary of proposed collections for public comment. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including any of the following subjects: (1) The necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden.

1. Type of Information Collection Request: New collection; Title of Information Collection: Evaluation of the Medicare Care Management Performance Demonstration (MCMP) and the Electronic Health Records Demonstration (EHRD); Use: The MCMP demonstration was authorized under Section 649 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. This is a three year pay for performance demonstration with physicians to promote the adoption and use of health information technology (HIT) to improve the quality of care for eligible chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries. MCMP targets small to medium sized primary care practices with up to 10 physicians. Practices must provide care to at least 50 Medicare beneficiaries. Physicians will receive payments for meeting or exceeding performance standards for quality of care. They will also receive an additional incentive payment for electronic submission of performance measures via their electronic health record (EHR) system. These payments are in addition to their normal payments for providing service to Medicare beneficiaries. The Office System Survey (OSS) will be used to assess progress of physician practices in implementation and use of EHRs and related HIT functionalities.

The EHR demonstration is authorized under section 402 of the Medicare Waiver Authority. The goal of this six year pay for performance demonstration is to foster the implementation and adoption of EHRs and HIT in order to improve the quality of care provided by physician practices. The EHRD expands upon the MCMP Demonstration and will test whether performance-based financial incentives (1) increase physician practices' adoption and use of electronic health records (EHRs), and (2) improve the quality of care that practices deliver to chronically ill patients. The EHRD targets small to medium sized primary care practices with up to 20 physicians. Practices must provide care to at least 50 Medicare beneficiaries. Approximately 2,400 practices will be enrolled in the demonstration across 12 sites. Practices will be randomly assigned to a treatment and control group. The OSS will be used to assess progress of physician practices in implementation and use of EHRs and related HIT functionalities, and to determine incentive payments for treatment practices. In-person and telephone discussions with community partners and physician practices will be used to learn about practices' experiences and strategies in adopting and using EHRs, as well as the factors that help or hinder their efforts. Form Number: CMS-10273 (OMB# 0938—New); Frequency: Annually, Biennially and Once; Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Number of Respondents: 3434; Total Annual Responses: 3434; Total Annual Hours: 2586.

To obtain copies of the supporting statement and any related forms for the proposed paperwork collections referenced above, access CMS' Web site at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/​PaperworkReductionActof1995,, or E-mail your request, including your address, phone number, OMB number, and CMS document identifier, to [e-mail], or call the Reports Clearance Office on [phone].

In commenting on the proposed information collections please reference the document identifier or OMB control number. To be assured consideration, comments and recommendations must be submitted in one of the following ways by March 24, 2009:

1. Electronically. You may submit your comments electronically to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for “Comment or Submission” or “More Search Options” to find the information collection document(s) accepting comments.

2. By regular mail. You may mail written comments to the following address: CMS, Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs, Division of Regulations Development, Attention: Document Identifier/OMB Control Number _, Room C4-26-05, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850.

Dated: January 14, 2009.

Michelle Shortt,

Director, Regulations Development Group, Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs.