2020-01264. Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Management and Organizational Practices Survey-Hospitals (MOPS-HP)

AGENCY:

U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a proposed new collection called the Management and Organizational Practices Survey—Hospitals (MOPS-HP) as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES:

To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on or before March 27, 2020.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all written comments to Thomas Smith, PRA Liaison, U.S. Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Room 7K250A, Washington, DC 20233 (or via the internet at [e-mail]). You may also submit comments, identified by Docket Number USBC-2019-0020, to the Federale-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. All comments received are part of the public record. No comments will be posted to http://www.regulations.gov for public viewing until after the comment period has closed. Comments will generally be posted without change. All Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information. You may submit attachments to electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions should be directed to Edward Watkins at [e-mail] or 301-763-4750.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

The U.S. Census Bureau plans to conduct the Management and Organizational Practices Survey-Hospitals (MOPS-HP) for survey year 2019 as a joint project with Harvard Business School. The MOPS-HP will utilize a subset of the Service Annual Survey mail-out sample and will collect data on management practices from Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs) at general medical and surgical hospitals to assist in identifying determinants of clinical and financial performance.

Currently, no official statistics on management practices in hospitals exist. Past research shows these practices are related to health care providers' clinical and financial outcomes. This suggests that providing measures on management practices may potentially help the U.S. health care system, which is challenged by rising health care costs, increased demand from an aging society, and quality objectives. These data would permit users, such as Harvard Business School, to examine relationships between management practices and financial outcomes using Census Bureau data (e.g., revenues) and relationships with clinical outcomes using external data sources. Additionally, these data would provide hospital administrators and managers information to evaluate their practices in comparison to other hospitals at an aggregate level.

The MOPS-HP content was proposed by external researchers with past experience in surveying hospitals on management practices. Some questions are adapted from the Management and Organizational Practices Survey (MOPS), conducted in the manufacturing sector, allowing for inter-sectoral comparisons. Content for the MOPS-HP includes performance monitoring, financial and clinical targets, and incentives. The 39 questions are grouped into the following sections: Tenure, Management Practices, Management Training, Management of Team Interactions, Staffing and Allocation of Human Resources, Standardized Clinical Protocols, Documentation of Patients' Medical Records, and Organizational Characteristics.

II. Method of Collection

The MOPS-HP sample will consist of approximately 4,500 hospital locations for enterprises classified under General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (NAICS 6221) and sampled in the Service Annual Survey (SAS). The survey will be mailed separately from the 2019 SAS and collected electronically through the Census Bureau's Centurion online reporting system. Respondents will be sent an initial letter with instructions detailing how to log into the instrument and report their information. These letters will be addressed to the location's Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). Before mailing, the Census Bureau will attempt to identify the CNO at each location. In instances where the CNO is not identifiable, the letter will be addressed to the hospital's administrative office with attention to the CNO. Collection is scheduled to begin in September 2020 and end in April 2021.

III. Data

OMB Control Number: 0607-XXXX.

Form Number(s): MP-2000.

Type of Review: Regular submission.

Affected Public: General medical and surgical hospitals.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,500.

Estimated Time per Response: 45 minutes.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 3,375.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0 (This is not the cost of respondents' time, but the indirect costs respondents may incur for such things as purchases of specialized software or hardware needed to report, or expenditures for accounting or records maintenance services required specifically by the collection.)

Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.

Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Sections 131 and 182.

IV. Request for Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection 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 on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

Sheleen Dumas,

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Commerce Department.