2010-6238. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, HHS.

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: Patient Safety Survey Under the 9th Scope of Work: Nursing Home in Need (NHIN) Use: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is requesting OMB clearance for the Nursing Homes in Need (NHIN) Survey. The NHIN is a component of the Patient Safety Theme of the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Program's 9th Scope of Work (SOW). The statutory authority for this scope of work is found in Part B of Title XI of the Social Security Act (the Act) as amended by the Peer Review Improvement Act of 1982. The Act established the Utilization and Quality Control Peer Review Organization Program, now known as the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Program.

The QIO in each State will provide special technical assistance to a small number of nursing homes in need of assistance with quality improvement efforts. This special technical assistance will be for the QIO to conduct a root cause analysis (RCA) with one nursing home in its State per year (three over three years). Under this component, it is expected that within the first quarter of the contract period, CMS will assign one nursing home to each QIO. The determination of which nursing homes are eligible under this component will be made by CMS. Some of these facilities may meet criteria for Special Focus Facilities (SFF). The intent of this component is that each State QIO will work with three nursing homes over the three-year contract period; these assignments are expected to be spaced out so that each State QIO will get one nursing home assigned approximately every 12 months.

The NHIN Survey is a new information collection to be used by CMS to obtain information on nursing home satisfaction with technical assistance strategies delivered as a component of the NHIN. The NHIN Survey will be a census of 53 nursing homes working with their respective QIOs. The survey will be conducted one time for each of the nursing homes assisted in the first two years under the 9th SOW and it will be conducted twice with nursing homes assisted in the third year. The information collected through this survey will allow CMS to help focus the NHIN task to maximize the benefit to participating nursing homes. The NHIN Survey will be administered via telephone by trained and experienced interviewers. Responses will be entered into a pre-programmed Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) interface.

The NHIN Survey will include questions to determine if the QIO has conducted a root cause analysis and developed an action plan. These will be followed by questions about their satisfaction with the QIO and their perceived value of the QIO's assistance. The NHIN Survey will address the following:

• Background information;
• Current work—information and assessment;
• Satisfaction with QIOs;
• Value of QIO assistance;
• Sources of information; and
• Respondent comments.

All survey protocol and correspondence will be translated into Spanish and bi-lingual telephone interviewers will be used as needed. Form Number: CMS-10315 (OMB#: 0938-New); Frequency: Occasionally; Affected Public: Businesses and other for-profit and not-for-profit institutions; Number of Respondents: 53; Total Annual Responses: 106; Total Annual Hours: 17.5 hours (years 1 and 2), 35 hours (year 3). (For policy questions regarding this collection contact Bob Kambic 410-786-1515. For all other issues call 410-786-1326.)

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 May 21, 2010:

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: March 15, 2010.

Michelle Shortt,

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