Justification_VE OutPat Appointment Scheduling SurveyJUN2017

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 2900-0770)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

Veterans Experience Access Survey Scheduling Appointment

PURPOSE: Surveying patients once they completed their medical appointment to see if: VA scheduled my appointment for a time that worked for me, when scheduling my appointment, I was treated with courtesy and respect, and how they feel about their pharmacy/lab visit.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Veterans that completed a medical appointment.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [X] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software [ ] Small Discussion Group

[ ] Focus Group [] Other: ______________________

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name: Hala Maktabi (Hala.Maktabi@va.gov)

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [X] No

2. If Yes, will any information that is collected be included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [X] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Veteran Patient	1.8 million annually	1 minute	29,999.67 hrs
Totals	1.8 million annually	1 minute	29,999.67 hrs

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is 0.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [X] Yes [ ] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

We will be surveying Veterans who have recently made an outpatient appointment, completed the outpatient visit, had a prescription filled at a VA pharmacy and/or had lab work done at a VA facility. We will only be surveying Veterans on one of these interactions, not all of them to minimize burden. Additionally, any Veteran who is invited to complete one of these surveys will be quarantined from receiving other transactional survey invitations for a period of 90 days, also to minimize burden.

For the race question:

The Center for Minority veterans will be using the race/ethnicity data for similar purposes as is done for women veterans. Per our statute, we are required to identify gaps in services to advise the Secretary of recommended changes to improve the experience of minority veterans. As far as the appointment scheduling survey, we need to know if there is a potential disparity that exist for minority veterans when scheduling appointments. Currently, we do not have reliable data to confirm the trust score or level of customer satisfaction for minority veterans. As the demographics change and the number of minority veterans continue to increase, VA needs to fully understand all of its veteran customers going forward. We have recently received inquiries from Congressional offices and anticipate that this trend will continue. If additional details are required. We have also received support from the Office of Secretary to have VBA collect race/ethnicity data due to issues surrounding disability claims.

Sampling Plan

Summarized Sampling plan
Projected Annual Emails Sent	Projected Response Rate	Estimated Annual Volume of Responses	Estimated Burden Hours
7,600,000	23.685%	1,800,000	29,999.67

Rationale for increased burden

The updated numerical figures represent figures based on a revised data set pulled from VA data warehouse. The previous figures reported were estimates based on research conducted and conclusions reached at the time, based on available information.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[X] Other, Explain E-mail

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [X] No

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

Instructions for completing Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback”

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Provide the name of the collection that is the subject of the request. (e.g. Comment card for soliciting feedback on xxxx)

PURPOSE: Provide a brief description of the purpose of this collection and how it will be used. If this is part of a larger study or effort, please include this in your explanation.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Provide a brief description of the targeted group or groups for this collection of information. These groups must have experience with the program.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: Check one box. If you are requesting approval of other instruments under the generic, you must complete a form for each instrument.

CERTIFICATION: Please read the certification carefully. If you incorrectly certify, the collection will be returned as improperly submitted or it will be disapproved.

Personally Identifiable Information: Provide answers to the questions. Note: Agencies should only collect PII to the extent necessary, and they should only retain PII for the period of time that is necessary to achieve a specific objective.

Gifts or Payments: If you answer yes to the question, please describe the incentive and provide a justification for the amount.

BURDEN HOURS:

Category of Respondents: Identify who you expect the respondents to be in terms of the following categories: (1) Individuals or Households;(2) Private Sector; (3) State, local, or tribal governments; or (4) Federal Government. Only one type of respondent can be selected per row.

No. of Respondents: Provide an estimate of the Number of respondents.

Participation Time: Provide an estimate of the amount of time required for a respondent to participate (e.g. fill out a survey or participate in a focus group)

Burden: Provide the Annual burden hours: Multiply the Number of responses and the participation time and divide by 60.

FEDERAL COST: Provide an estimate of the annual cost to the Federal government.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents. Please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them. If the answer is yes, to the first question, you may provide the sampling plan in an attachment.

Administration of the Instrument: Identify how the information will be collected. More than one box may be checked. Indicate whether there will be interviewers (e.g. for surveys) or facilitators (e.g., for focus groups) used.

Submit all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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