2023-19603. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing an opportunity for the public to comment on CMS' intention to collect information from the public. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA), federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information (including each proposed extension or reinstatement of an existing collection of information) and to allow 60 days for public comment on the proposed action. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding our burden estimates or any other aspect of this collection of information, including the necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions, the accuracy of the estimated burden, ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden.

DATES:

Comments must be received by November 13, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

When commenting, please reference the document identifier or OMB control number. To be assured consideration, comments and recommendations must be submitted in any one of the following ways:

1. Electronically. You may send 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) that are 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.

To obtain copies of a supporting statement and any related forms for the proposed collection(s) summarized in this notice, please access the CMS PRA website by copying and pasting the following web address into your web browser: https://www.cms.gov/​Regulations-and-Guidance/​Legislation/​PaperworkReductionActof1995/​PRA-Listing.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

William N. Parham at (410) 786–4669.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Contents

This notice sets out a summary of the use and burden associated with the following information collections. More detailed information can be found in each collection's supporting statement and associated materials (see ADDRESSES ).

CMS–10769 Satisfaction of Nursing Homes, Hospitals, and Outpatient Clinicians Working with the CMS Network of Quality Improvement and Innovation Contractors Program (NQIIC)

Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. The term “collection of information” is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and includes agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA requires federal agencies to publish a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension or reinstatement of an existing collection of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, CMS is publishing this notice.

Information Collection

1. Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a currently approved information collection; Title of Information Collection: Satisfaction of Nursing Homes, Hospitals, and Outpatient Clinicians Working with the CMS Network of Quality Improvement and Innovation Contractors Program (NQIIC); Use: The purpose of this Information Collection Request (ICR) is to collect data to inform the program evaluation of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN–QIO) and Hospital Quality Improvement Contractors (HQIC) programs under the Network of Quality Improvement and Innovation Contractors (NQIIC) contract vehicle. This is a revision package. First, we updated the Nursing Home and Hospital Surveys to cover all the quality improvement focus areas targeted by NQIIC awardees, removed some but not all COVID–19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) related questions to reflect the progress of federal health program ( e.g., Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Project Echo program was officially ended in August 2021), and made minor refinements based on the first round of survey fielding. Second, we added the Outpatient Clinician Survey in the same revision package since all three surveys are conducted under the same NQIIC contract.

This revision package supports evaluation of the technical assistance provided by the QINQIO Program to nursing homes and outpatient clinicians in community settings, and Hospital Quality Improvement Contractors (HQIC) Program activities to support hospitals. This ICR is part of a larger evaluation of the overall impact of the NQIIC Program. Form Number: CMS–10769 (OMB control number: 0938–1424); Frequency: Yearly; Affected Public: State and Private Sector (Business or other for-profits); Number of Respondents: 1,900; Total Annual Responses: 1,900; Total Annual Hours: 559. (For policy questions regarding this collection, contact Jeff Mokry at 214–767–4021.)

Dated: September 7, 2023.

William N. Parham, III,

Director, Paperwork Reduction Staff, Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs.