30 Day FRN Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 112 / Wednesday, June 10, 2020 / Notices
Dated: June 5, 2020.
Virginia L. Mackay-Smith,
Associate Director.
[FR Doc. 2020–12565 Filed 6–9–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160–90–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality, HHS.
ACTION: Notice
AGENCY:

This notice announces the
intention of the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request
that the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) approve the proposed
information collection project:
‘‘Evaluation of Learning Health Systems
K12 Training Program.’’ This proposed
information collection was previously
published in the Federal Register on
March 12, 2020, and allowed 60 days for
public comment. No comments were
received from the public during this
period. The purpose of this notice is to
allow an additional 30 days for public
comment.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be
received by 30 days after date of
publication of this Notice.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting
‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open
for Public Comments’’ or by using the
search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports
Clearance Officer, (301) 427–1477, or by
email at doris.lefkowitz@AHRQ.hhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:

Proposed Project

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Evaluation of Learning Health Systems
K12 Training Program
AHRQ, in partnership with the
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Institute (PCORI), supports an
innovative institutional mentored career
development program (K12) to train
clinician and research scientists to
conduct patient-centered outcomes
research within learning health systems
(LHSs). LHSs provide an environment

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where science generated from health
services research, patient-centered
outcomes research (PCOR), and clinical
research; informatics; incentives; and
culture are aligned for continuous
improvement and innovation. In
addition, in an LHS, best practices are
seamlessly embedded in the care
process, in which stakeholders (i.e.,
providers, patients, and families) are
active participants in all elements, and
new knowledge is captured as an
integral by-product of the care
experience. The following are the LHS
K12 training program objectives:
• Develop and implement a training
program that includes both didactic and
experiential learning and embeds the
scholars in training at the interface of
research, informatics, and clinical
operations within LHSs.
• Identify, recruit, and train clinician
and research scientists who are
committed to conducting PCOR in
healthcare settings that generate new
evidence to facilitate rapid
implementation of practices that will
improve quality of care and patient
outcomes.
• Establish Centers of Excellence
(COEs) in LHS Research Training,
focusing on the application and mastery
of the newly developed core LHS
researcher competencies.
• Promote cross-institutional scholarmentor interactions, cooperation on
multisite projects, dissemination of
project findings, methodological
advances, and development of a shared
curriculum.
The purpose of this evaluation is to
assess the overall achievement of the
LHS K12 training program’s objectives,
outcomes, and impact, as well as the
program’s value to its stakeholders. The
information collected through this data
collection will allow AHRQ to improve
the LHS K12 program and identify
whether results correspond to
intentional changes in program strategy
and implementation.
This study is being conducted by
AHRQ through its contractor, 2M
Research, pursuant to AHRQ’s statutory
authority to ‘‘build capacity for
comparative clinical effectiveness
research by establishing a grant program
that provides for the training of
researchers in the methods used to
conduct such research.’’ 42 U.S.C. 299b37(e).
Method of Collection
The evaluation will include two types
of data collection: (1) Semi-structured
interviews with scholars who are close
to completing the LHS K12 training
program, their health system advisors,
and program directors of each of the 11

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institutions; and (2) surveys with health
system advisors. The proposed data
collection spans three years (2020–
2023).
To achieve the goals of this project the
following data collections will be
implemented.
1. Scholar Interview: Interviews with
LHS K12 scholars assess the degree of
scholar embeddedness in their
respective health systems and query
which aspects of the training program
were most and least successful.
Telephone interviews will be conducted
one time with scholars who are
currently enrolled but close to (within 2
to 3 months of) completing the LHS K12
training program. The total estimated
number of scholars interviewed will be
approximately up to 123 (or
approximately 41 scholars annually).
2. Health System Advisor Interview:
Interviews with scholars’ health system
advisors assess the perceived value of
the LHS K12 training program to the
health system and the role of health
system advisors in supporting the
research conducted by LHS K12
scholars. One health system advisor
from each scholar’s advisory committee
will be interviewed by telephone.
Health system advisors selected for
interviews will include those with
direct involvement with or knowledge
of the LHS K12 scholars’ research
projects. Health system advisors will be
interviewed once around the same time
that the scholar is interviewed. The total
estimated number of health system
advisors interviewed will be
approximately up to 116 (or
approximately 39 health system
advisors annually).
3. Program Director Interview:
Interviews with LHS K12 program
directors assess the perceived value of
the LHS K12 training program to the
health system and the role of health
system advisors in supporting the LHS
K12 training program. The program
director of each of the grantee
institutions participating in the LHS
K12 program will be interviewed by
telephone in the final year of the LHS
K12 program. The total number of
program directors interviewed will be
10 (or approximately 4 program
directors annually).
4. Health System Advisor Survey: Prepost surveys with scholars’ health
system advisors measure change in
attitudes toward the role of health
systems research and the importance of
patient, family, and other stakeholder
engagement in research. A brief survey
will be administered electronically to
health system advisors at two time
points: Once at the beginning and
conclusion of their respective scholar’s

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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 112 / Wednesday, June 10, 2020 / Notices

training. The total number of health
system advisors surveyed will be
approximately up to 190 (or
approximately 63 health system
directors annually).
AHRQ will use the information
collected through this Information
Collection Request to assess the program
progress of the LHS K12 training
program, and impact to its LHS
stakeholders in a prospective manner.

The information collected will facilitate
program planning.
Estimated Annual Respondent Burden
Table 1 shows the estimated
annualized burden hours required for
respondents to participate in this
evaluation. Interviews will be
conducted with a total of 123 scholars,
116 health system advisors, and 10
program directors (approximately 41
scholars, 39 health system advisors, and

4 program directors each year). Each
interview is expected to last
approximately 60 minutes. Surveys will
be conducted with a total of 190 health
system advisors (or approximately 63
health system advisors each year). The
survey is expected to take less than 10
minutes. The total hour burden is
expected to be 284.13 hours (or
approximately 94.71 hours each year)
for this participant data collection effort.

TABLE 1—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOURS
Estimated
number of
respondents

Instrument

Average time
per response
(hours)

Frequency of
response

Total annual
burden estimate
(hours)

Scholar Interviews .......................................................................................
Health System Advisor Interviews ...............................................................
Program Director Interviews ........................................................................
Health System Advisor Surveys ..................................................................

41
39
4
63

1
1
1
1

1.00
1.00
1.00
0.17

41.00
39.00
4.00
10.71

Estimated Annual Total ........................................................................

147

........................

........................

94.71

Table 2 shows the estimated
annualized cost burden based on the
time required for respondents to
participate in this project. This cost was
calculated using average hourly
earnings for May 2018, obtained from

the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ estimates
for occupational employment wages.
The total estimated cost burden for this
data collection is $19,580.75 (or
approximately $6,526.92 each year). The
following hourly wages were used in the

annualized cost calculations: $37.38 per
hour for a scholar, $96.22 per hour for
a health system advisor, and $52.81 per
hour for a program director.

TABLE 2—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED COST BURDEN
Estimated
number of
respondents

Instrument

Total annual
burden estimate
(hours)

Hourly rate

Total cost

Scholar Interviews * .....................................................................................
Health System Advisor Interviews ** ............................................................
Program Director Interviews *** ...................................................................
Health System Advisor Surveys ** ...............................................................

41
39
4
63

41.00
39.00
4.00
10.71

$37.38
$96.22
$52.81
$96.22

$1,532.58
3,752.58
211.24
1,030.52

Estimated Annual Total ........................................................................

147

94.71

........................

6,526.92

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor. (2018). Occupational employment statistics May 2018 national wages. https://
www.bls.gov/oes/home.htm
* The hourly wage for scholars varies depending on the scholar’s degree. AHRQ averaged hourly wages using the following occupations code
to develop an estimate that represents the mix of medical and academic degrees: 29–0000, 29–1000, 21–0000.
** AHRQ anticipates that many health system advisors will be C-suite leaders. The hourly wage for BLS’s occupation code 11–1010 (chief executive) was used for this estimate.
*** Program directors hold various roles and responsibilities and, therefore, have varied salaries. For the purpose of this estimate, the hourly
wages for the following managerial and post-secondary occupational codes were averaged: 11–3131,11–1021,11–9030,11–9033,11–9039, and
11–9199.

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Request for Comments
In accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act, comments on AHRQ’s
information collection are requested
with regard to any of the following: (a)
Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of AHRQ’s health care
research and health care information
dissemination functions, including
whether the information will have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of
AHRQ’s estimate of burden (including
hours and costs) of the proposed
collection(s) of information; (c) ways to

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enhance the quality, utility and clarity
of the information to be collected; and
(d) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information upon the
respondents, including the use of
automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and
included in the Agency’s subsequent
request for OMB approval of the
proposed information collection. All
comments will become a matter of
public record.

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Dated: June 4, 2020.
Virginia L. Mackay-Smith,
Associate Director.
[FR Doc. 2020–12513 Filed 6–9–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160–90–P

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