2011-13212. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: Comment Request

In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects (section 3506(c)(2)(A) of Title 44, United States Code, as amended by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) publishes periodic summaries of proposed projects being developed for submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and draft instruments, e-mail [e-mail] or call the HRSA Reports Clearance Officer at [phone].

Comments are invited on the: (a) Proposed collection of information for the proper performance of the functions of the agency; (b) accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 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.

Proposed Project: HIV Clinician Workforce Study (OMB No. 0915-NEW)

HRSA's HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) is planning to conduct a 24-month HIV clinician workforce study to provide HRSA and other state and federal agencies with national and state-level estimates of the number of primary care clinicians currently providing medical care to people living with HIV or AIDS in the United States, as well as projections of the magnitude of the expected shortage or surplus of HIV-related primary care clinicians through 2015.

The study will focus on the supply and demand of health professionals who independently manage patients with HIV/AIDS. The study will have two main components:

a. Design and implementation of a forecasting model to estimate and project the supply of and demand for HIV clinicians at the national and regional levels; and

b. Implementation of two surveys to collect the information needed to develop HIV-specific input parameters for the forecasting model, as well as to help address other research questions of the study.

HRSA is requesting OMB approval to conduct a HIV clinician survey and a HIV practice survey. The HIV clinician survey will focus on the individual provider of care and will include questions related to:

a. The clinician's age, gender, medical profession, and medical specialty;

b. The number of hours spent in direct patient care;

c. The size and characteristics of HIV patient load;

d. The primary practice characteristics and patient management strategies; and

e. The plans to increase or decrease number of hours spent in direct patient care, as well as plans for retirement.

The HIV practice survey will also focus on the practice administrator and will include questions related to type and size of clinic, clinic specialty and affiliation, number and acuity of patients, number and composition of staff, type of staffing model and patient management strategies, meaningful use of electronic medical record systems, as well as appointment scheduling practices and policies. HRSA also plans to conduct web/paper surveys with computer-assisted telephone interviewing follow-up.

HRSA will use claims data, supplemented with a list of members of HIV medical societies, attendees at the 2010 HIV clinical conference, and participants in regional AIDS Education and Training Center-sponsored training sessions, to identify the frame of clinicians (physicians and non-physician clinicians) in all 50 states and the District of Columbia who provide a significant amount of medical care to patients with HIV or AIDS, based on diagnostic, procedural, and drug codes associated with the claims. By using a national probability sampling strategy, the results of the clinician survey can be used to generate national and regional estimates of HIV clinician supply.

HRSA will use quantitative and qualitative methods to document and quantify the extent of the HIV clinician workforce surplus or shortage, predict the future requirements for and supply of HIV clinicians, and identify best practice models and strategies for expanding the capacity of HIV practices and providers to meet the growing demand for care.

The ultimate goal of the study will be to develop proposed action steps that HRSA and other federal and state agencies can use to enhance the capacity of the HIV clinician workforce to achieve the access targets set forth in the 2010 White House Office of HIV/AIDS Policy's National HIV/AIDS Strategy and Implementation Plan.

The annual estimate of burden of the two surveys is as follows:

Instrument	Number of respondents	Responses per respondent	Total responses	Hours per response	Total burden hours
HIV Clinician Survey	4,000	1	4,000	0.33	1,320
HIV Practice Survey	500	1	500	0.50	250
Total	4,500		4,500		1,570

E-mail comments to [e-mail] or mail the HRSA Reports Clearance Officer, Room 10-33, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

Dated: May 23, 2011.

Jennifer Riggle,

Deputy Director, Office of Management.