38292 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 27, 2012 / Notices 

names may be put on a list of expected 

attendees and forwarded to the security 

officers at the Department of Health and 

Human Services. Any interested 

member of the public who is a non-U.S. 

citizen should include this information 

at the time of registration to ensure that 

the appropriate security procedure to 

gain entry to the building is carried out. 

Although the meeting is open to the 

public, procedures governing security 

and the entrance to Federal buildings 

may change without notice. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Topics of 

the Meeting: The Advisory Council will 

discuss implementation of the National 

Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease. 

Procedure and Agenda: This meeting is 

open to the public. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 11225; Section 2(e)(3) 

of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act. The 

panel is governed by provisions of Public 

Law 92–463, as amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 

2), which sets forth standards for the 

formation and use of advisory committees. 

Dated: June 20, 2012. 

Sherry Glied, 

Assistant Secretary for Planning and 

Evaluation. 

[FR Doc. 2012–15625 Filed 6–26–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research 

and Quality, HHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: 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: ‘‘Online 

Application Order Form for Products 

from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization 

Project (HCUP).’’ In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 

3501–3521, AHRQ invites the public to 

comment on this proposed information 

collection. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by August 27, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be submitted to: Doris Lefkowitz, 

Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, by 

email at doris.lefkowitz@AHRQ.hhs.gov. 

Copies of the proposed collection 

plans, data collection instruments, and 

specific details on the estimated burden 

can be obtained from the AHRQ Reports 

Clearance Officer. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports 

Clearance Officer, (301) 427–1477, or by 

email at doris.lefkowitz@AHRQ.hhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Proposed Project 

Online Application Order Form for 

Products From the Healthcare Cost and 

Utilization Project (HCUP) 

The Healthcare Cost and Utilization 

Project (HCUP, pronounced ‘‘H-Cup’’) is 

a vital resource helping AHRQ achieve 

its research agenda, thereby furthering 

its goal of improving the delivery of 

health care in the United States. HCUP 

is a family of health care databases and 

related software tools and products 

developed through a Federal-StateIndustry partnership and sponsored by 

AHRQ. HCUP includes the largest 

collection of longitudinal hospital care 

data in the United States, with all-payer, 

encounter-level information beginning 

in 1988. The HCUP databases are annual 

files that contain anonymous 

information from hospital discharge 

records for inpatient care and certain 

components of outpatient care, such as 

emergency care and ambulatory 

surgeries. The project currently releases 

a variety of databases created for 

research use on a broad range of health 

issues, including cost and quality of 

health services, medical practice 

patterns, access to health care programs, 

and outcomes of treatments at the 

national, State, and local market levels. 

HCUP also produces a large number of 

software tools to enhance the use of 

administrative health care data for 

research and public health use. Software 

tools use information available from a 

variety of sources to create new data 

elements, often through sophisticated 

algorithms, for use with the HCUP 

databases. 

HCUP’s objectives are to: 

• Create and enhance a powerful 

source of national, state, and all-payer 

health care data. 

• Produce a broad set of software 

tools and products to facilitate the use 

of HCUP and other administrative data. 

• Enrich a collaborative partnership 

with statewide data organizations (that 

voluntarily participate in the project) 

aimed at increasing the quality and use 

of health care data. 

• Conduct and translate research to 

inform decision making and improve 

health care delivery. 

The HCUP releases six types of 

databases for public research use: 

(1) The Nationwide Inpatient Sample 

(NIS) is the largest all-payer inpatient 

care database in the United States, 

containing data from approximately 8 

million hospital stays from roughly 

1,000 hospitals; this approximates a 20- 

percent stratified sample of U.S. 

community hospitals. NIS data releases 

are available for purchase from the 

HCUP Central Distributor for data years 

beginning in 1988. 

(2) The Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID) 

is the only all-payer inpatient care 

database for children in the United 

States. The KID was specifically 

designed to permit researchers to study 

a broad range of conditions and 

procedures related to child health 

issues. The KID contains a sample of 

over 3 million discharges for children 

age 20 and younger from more than 

3,500 U.S. community hospitals. 

(3) The Nationwide Emergency 

Department Sample (NEDS) is the 

largest all-payer ED database in the 

United States. It is constructed to 

capture information both on ED visits 

that do not result in an admission and 

on ED visits that result in an admission 

to the same hospital. The NEDS 

contains more than 25 million 

unweighted records for ED visits at 

about 1,000 U.S. community hospitals 

and approximates a 20-percent stratified 

sample of U.S. hospital-based EDs. Files 

are available beginning with data year 

2006. 

(4) The State Inpatient Databases (SID) 

contain the universe of inpatient 

discharge abstracts from data 

organizations in 46 States that currently 

participate in the SID. Together, the SID 

encompasses approximately 97 percent 

of all U.S. community hospital 

discharges. Most States that participate 

in the SID make their data available for 

purchase through the HCUP Central 

Distributor. Files are available beginning 

with data year 1990. 

(5) The State Ambulatory Surgery 

Databases (SASD) contain data from 

ambulatory care encounters in hospitalaffiliated (and sometimes freestanding) 

ambulatory surgery sites. Currently, 29 

States participate in the SASD. Files are 

available beginning with data year 1997. 

(6) The State Emergency Department 

Databases (SEDD) contain data from 

hospital-affiliated emergency 

department (ED) abstracts for visits that 

do not result in a hospitalization. 

Currently, 29 States participate in the 

SEDD. Files are available beginning 

with data year 1999. 

To support AHRQ’s mission to 

improve health care through scientific 

research, HCUP databases and software 

tools are disseminated to users outside 

of the Agency through a mechanism 

known as the HCUP Central Distributor. 

The HCUP Central Distributor assists 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 27, 2012 / Notices 38293 

qualified researchers to access uniform 

research data across multiple states with 

the use of one application process. The 

HCUP databases disseminated through 

the Central distributor are referred to as 

‘‘restricted access public release files;’’ 

that is, they are publicly available, but 

only under restricted conditions. 

HCUP databases are released to 

researchers outside of AHRQ after the 

completion of required training and 

submission of an application that 

includes a signed HCUP Data Use 

Agreement (DUA). In addition, before 

restricted access public release statelevel databases are released, the user is 

asked for a brief description of their 

research to ensure that the planned use 

is consistent with HCUP policies and 

with the HCUP data use requirements. 

Fees are set for databases released 

through the HCUP Central Distributor 

depending on the type of database. The 

fee for sale of state-level data is 

determined by each participating 

Statewide Data Organization and 

reimbursed to those organizations. This 

project is being conducted by AHRQ 

through its contractor and 

subcontractor, Thomson Reuters and 

Social & Scientific Systems, Inc., 

pursuant to AHRQ’s statutory authority 

to conduct and support research on 

healthcare and on systems for the 

delivery of such care, including 

activities with respect to the outcomes, 

cost, cost-effectiveness, and use of 

health care services and access to such 

services. (42 U.S.C. 299a(a)(3).) 

Method of Collection 

This information collection request is 

for the activities associated with 

completing an online application form 

to request HCUP data, not the collection 

of health care data for HCUP databases. 

The activities associated with the HCUP 

online application include: 

(1) HCUP Application Form. All 

persons wanting access to the HCUP 

databases must complete an application 

package. Each unique database has a 

unique application package. All 

application packages are available for 

downloading at http://www.hcupus.ahrq.gov/tech_assist/centdist.jsp. 

(2) HCUP Data Use Agreement 

Training. All persons wanting access to 

the HCUP databases must complete this 

online training course. The purpose of 

the training is to emphasize the 

importance of data protection, reduce 

the risk of inadvertent violations, and 

describe the individual’s responsibility 

when using HCUP data. The training 

course can be accessed and completed 

online at http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/ 

tech_assist/dua.jsp. 

(3) HCUP Data Use Agreement (DUA). 

All persons wanting access to the HCUP 

databases must sign a data use 

agreement. Each database has a unique 

DUA; an example DUA for the 

Nationwide Inpatient Sample database 

is available at http://www.hcupus.ahrq.gov/team/NISDUA.jsp. 

Information collected in the HCUP 

Application Order Form will be used for 

two purposes only: 

1. Business Transaction: HCUP 

databases and software are currently 

delivered on disk and shipped to users 

who have completed the application 

process. Contact information is used for 

shipping the data on disk (or any other 

media used in the future). AHRQ policy 

and current agreements with Statewide 

Data Organizations contributing data to 

HCUP prohibit providing access to the 

data via the Internet or email. 

2. Enforcement of the HCUP Data Use 

Agreement (DUA): The HCUP DUA 

contains several restrictions on use of 

the data. Most of these restrictions have 

been put in place to safeguard the 

privacy of individuals and 

establishments represented in the data. 

For example, data users can only use the 

data for research, analysis, and aggregate 

statistical reporting and are prohibited 

from attempting to identify any persons 

in the data. Contact information on 

HCUP Data Use Agreements is retained 

in the event that a violation of the DUA 

takes place. 

Estimated Annual Respondent Burden 

Exhibit 1 shows the estimated 

annualized burden associated with the 

applicants’ time to order any of the 

HCUP databases. An estimated 1,200 

persons will order HCUP data annually. 

Each of these persons will complete an 

application (10 minutes), the DUA 

training (15 minutes) and a DUA 

(5 minutes). The total burden is 

estimated to be 600 hours annually. 

Exhibit 2 shows the estimated 

annualized cost burden associated with 

the applicants’ time to order HCUP data. 

The total cost burden is estimated to be 

$21,408 annually. 

EXHIBIT 1—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOURS

Form name Number of 

respondents 

Number of 

responses per 

respondent 

Hours per 

response 

Total burden 

hours 

HCUP Application Form .................................................................................. 1,200 1 0/60 200 

HCUP DUA Training ........................................................................................ 1,200 1 15/60 300 

HCUP DUA ...................................................................................................... 1,200 1 5/60 100 

Total .......................................................................................................... 3,600 na na 600 

EXHIBIT 2—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED COST BURDEN

Form name Number of 

respondents 

Total burden 

hours 

Average 

hourly wage 

rate * 

Total cost 

burden 

HCUP Application Form .................................................................................. 1,200 200 $35.68 $7,136 

HCUP DUA Training ........................................................................................ 1,200 300 35.68 10,704

HCUP DUA ...................................................................................................... 1,200 100 35.68 3,568 

Total .......................................................................................................... 3,600 600 na 21,408 

* Based upon the mean of the average wages for Life Scientists, All Other (19–1099), National Compensation Survey: Occupational wages in 

the United States May 2011, ‘‘U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.’’ 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
38294 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 27, 2012 / Notices 

Estimated Annual Costs to the Federal 

Government 

Exhibit 3 shows the estimated total 

and annualized cost to process HCUP 

database applications and maintain the 

ordering system over the 3 years 

covered by this information collection 

request. It is estimated to cost $17,237 

annually to operate and maintain the 

ordering system. 

Exhibit 3. Estimated Total and 

Annualized Cost 

Cost component Total cost Annualized 

cost 

Order Review ........................................................................................................................................................... $14,493 $4,831 

Monthly Updates—Product Catalog ........................................................................................................................ 1,857 619 

System Maintenance ............................................................................................................................................... 13,820 4,607 

Customer Inquiries ................................................................................................................................................... 4,483 1,495 

Management/Troubleshooting ................................................................................................................................. 17,058 5,689 

Total .................................................................................................................................................................. 51,711 17,237 

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 healthcare 

research and healthcare 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 

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. 

Dated: June 19, 2012. 

Carolyn M. Clancy, 

Director. 

[FR Doc. 2012–15615 Filed 6–26–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4160–90–M 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality 

Notice of Meeting 

In accordance with section 10(d) of 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act as 

amended (5 U.S.C., Appendix 2), the 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality (AHRQ) announces this meeting 

of scientific peer review groups. The 

subcommittee listed below is a part of 

the Agency’s Health Services Research 

Initial Review Group Committee. 

The subcommittee meeting will be 

closed to the public in accordance with 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 

section 10(d) of 5 U.S.C., Appendix 2 

and 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(6). Grant 

applications are to be reviewed and 

discussed at this meeting. These 

discussions are likely to involve 

information concerning individuals 

associated with the applications, 

including assessments of their personal 

qualifications to conduct their proposed 

projects. This information is exempt 

from mandatory disclosure under the 

above-cited statutes. 

Name of Subcommittee: Health Care 

Research Training (2) Virtual Review. 

Date: July 12, 2012 (Open from 1:00 p.m. 

to 1:15 p.m. on July 12 and closed for 

remainder of the meeting). 

Place: Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality, John Eisenberg Building, 540 Gaither 

Road, OEREP Conference Room, Rockville, 

MD 20850. 

Contact Person: Anyone wishing to obtain 

a roster of members, agenda or minutes of the 

nonconfidential portions of the meeting 

should contact Mrs. Bonnie Campbell, 

Committee Management Officer, Office of 

Extramural Research, Education and Priority 

Populations, AHRQ, 540 Gaither Road, Suite 

2000, Rockville, Maryland 20850, Telephone 

(301) 427–1554. 

Agenda items for these meetings are 

subject to change as priorities dictate. 

Dated: June 14, 2012. 

Carolyn M. Clancy, 

Director. 

[FR Doc. 2012–15611 Filed 6–26–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4160–90–M 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality 

Patient Safety Organizations: Delisting 

for Cause for Medical Informatics 

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research 

and Quality (AHRQ), HHS. 

ACTION: Notice of Delisting. 

SUMMARY: AHRQ has delisted Medical 

Informatics as a Patient Safety 

Organization (PSO) due to its failure to 

correct a deficiency. The Patient Safety 

and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 

(Patient Safety Act) authorizes the 

listing of PSOs, which are entities or 

component organizations whose 

mission and primary activity is to 

conduct activities to improve patient 

safety and the quality of health care 

delivery. HHS issued the Patient Safety 

and Quality Improvement Final Rule 

(Patient Safety Rule) to implement the 

Patient Safety Act. AHRQ administers 

the provisions of the Patient Safety Act 

and Patient Safety Rule relating to the 

listing and operation of PSOs. 

DATES: The directories for both listed 

and delisted PSOs are ongoing and 

reviewed weekly by AHRQ. The 

delisting was effective at 12:00 Midnight 

ET (2400) on June 1, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Both directories can be 

accessed electronically at the following 

HHS Web site: http:// 

www.pso.AHRQ.gov/index.html. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Eileen Hogan, Center for Quality 

Improvement and Patient Safety, AHRQ, 

540 Gaither Road, Rockville, MD 20850; 

Telephone (toll free): (866) 403–3697; 

Telephone (local): (301) 427–1111; TTY 

(toll free): (866) 438–7231; TTY (local): 

(301) 427–1130; Email: 

pso@AHRQ.hhs.qov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES