53306 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 168 / Tuesday, August 31, 2010 / Notices 

grants programs and other agency 

information exchange mechanisms. 

Method of Collection 

Grantees are required to enter data 

related to the progress of their grant 

funded research quarterly through a 

secure online interface which requires a 

user id and password. 

Estimated Annual Respondent Burden 

Exhibit 1 shows the estimated 

annualized burden hours for the 

respondents. It will take grantees an 

estimated 10 minutes to enter the 

necessary data into the Grant Reporting 

System (GRS) and reporting will occur 

four times annually. The total 

annualized burden hours are estimated 

to be 333 hours. 

Exhibit 2 shows the estimated 

annualized cost burden for the 

respondents. The total estimated cost 

burden for respondents is $11,159. 

EXHIBIT 1—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOURS

Form name Number of 

respondents 

Number of 

responses per 

respondent 

Hours per 

response 

Total burden 

hours 

Data entry into GRS ........................................................................ 500 4 .............................. 10/60 ..................... 333 

Total ......................................................................................... 500 na ............................ na .......................... 333 

EXHIBIT 2—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED COST BURDEN

Form name Number of 

respondents 

Total burden 

hours 

Average hourly 

wage rate * 

Total cost 

burden 

Data entry into GRS ................................................................................. 500 333 $33.51 .................. $11,159 

Total ................................................................................................... 500 333 na ......................... 11,159 

* Based upon the average wages for Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Occupations (29–0000), ‘‘National Compensation Survey: Occupational Wages in the United States, May 2009,’’ U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Estimated Annual Costs to the Federal 

Government 

The annual cost to the government is 

$100,000 for licensing, support and 

maintenance. 

Request for Comments 

In accordance with the above-cited 

Paperwork Reduction Act legislation, 

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: August 16, 2010. 

Carolyn M. Clancy, 

Director. 

[FR Doc. 2010–21501 Filed 8–30–10; 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: 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: 

‘‘Avoiding Readmissions in Hospitals 

Serving Diverse Patients.’’ In accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 

U.S.C. 3501–3520, AHRQ invites the 

public to comment on this proposed 

information collection. 

This proposed information collection 

was previously published in the Federal 

Register on June 21st, 2010 and allowed 

60 days for public comment. One 

comment was received. The purpose of 

this notice is to allow an additional 30 

days for public comment. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by September 30, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be submitted to: AHRQ’s OMB Desk 

Officer by fax at (202) 395–6974 

(attention: AHRQ’s desk officer) or by email at OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov 

(attention: AHRQ’s desk officer). 

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 

e-mail at 

doris.lefkowitz@AHRQ.hhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Proposed Project 

Avoiding Readmissions in Hospitals 

Serving Diverse Patients 

An important part of AHRQ’s mission 

is to disseminate information and tools 

that can support improvement in quality 

and safety in the U.S. health care 

community. The transition process from 

the hospital to the outpatient setting is 

nonstandardized and frequently 

inadequate in quality. One in five 

hospital discharges is complicated by an 

adverse event (AE) within 30 days, often 

leading to an emergency department 

visit and/or rehospitalization. Many 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 168 / Tuesday, August 31, 2010 / Notices 53307 

readmissions stem from errors that can 

be directly attributed to the 

discontinuity and fragmentation of care 

at discharge. High rates of low health 

literacy, lack of coordination in the 

‘‘hand-off’’ from the hospital to 

community care, gaps in social 

supports, and other limitations also 

contribute to the risk of 

rehospitalization. 

Boston University Medical Center 

(BUMC), through a grant from AHRQ, 

previously defined the discharge 

process and determined what 

improvements could be made to 

improve this care transition for patients. 

This new process was called the ‘‘reengineered discharge’’ (RED). The RED 

consists of 11 elements, including 

educating the patient throughout the 

hospital stay, making follow-up 

appointments, and giving the patient a 

written discharge plan. The RED was 

tested in a randomized controlled trial 

in an academic safety net hospital at 

BUMC with English speaking, general 

medical patients being discharged to 

home or community settings. Results of 

this trial of 749 patients showed a 

reduction in rehospitalizations within 

30 days and emergency department 

visits following hospital discharge. 

Participants also followed up with 

primary care providers more often and 

reported higher patient satisfaction with 

the discharge process. Project RED 

researchers created several tools to help 

hospitals replicate RED. After AHRQ 

and Project RED researchers fielded 

many inquiries about how to implement 

Project RED at hospitals nationwide, 

AHRQ realized that the Project RED 

Toolkit did not provide sufficient 

guidance to potential replicators. 

Various components of the RED were 

not documented, and issues regarding 

implementing the RED at hospitals 

serving linguistically and culturally 

diverse patient populations had not 

been addressed. AHRQ has therefore 

contracted with the RED researchers to 

create a revised RED Toolkit that will 

address these issues. 

This proposed information collection 

supports AHRQ’s mission by improving 

upon the RED Toolkit. This project has 

the following 2 goals: 

(1) To pre-test the revised RED Toolkit 

in ten varied hospital settings, 

evaluating how the RED Toolkit is 

implemented in varied hospital settings 

by: (a) Documenting the implementation 

process; (b) assessing the fidelity of 

implementation; and (c) identifying the 

factors that affect redesign fidelity, 

including intensity of technical 

assistance (TA). 

(2) To modify the revised RED Toolkit 

based on pre-testing and to disseminate 

it. 

BUMC will provide TA at two varying 

levels. Four selected hospitals will 

receive ‘‘train-the-trainer’’ TA, which 

includes: 

(1) Telephone assistance in 

conducting a baseline needs assessment; 

(2) Master trainer training; 

(3) Access to webinar trainings 

specifically designed for each user 

(nurse, IT professional, hospital 

leadership, and pharmacist); 

(4) An electronic template to print an 

After Hospital Care Plan (AHCP) 

booklet; and 

(5) E-mails regarding updates to the 

RED Web site and the opportunity to ask 

questions about the newly revised and 

enhanced RED tools and 

implementation via telephone and email. 

Six selected hospitals will receive 

intensive TA, which includes: 

(1) Telephone baseline needs 

assessment; 

(2) On-site training; 

(3) Monthly semi-structured 

interviews via phone calls with the 

implementation team to discuss 

implementation efforts and barriers; 

(4) Adaptation of the revised RED 

Toolkit to include specific details about 

the hospital (such as the hospital name 

on the cover of the AHCP booklet and 

hospital-specific services provided to 

patients included in the AHCP booklet); 

(5) An assessment and evaluation site 

visit by the organizational change 

evaluator (a member of the 

implementation team), at baseline and 

12 months after the start of 

implementation efforts to interview 

select participating hospital staff; 

(6) IT support to install and support 

the RED Toolkit software to 

automatically generate the AHCP 

booklet; and 

(7) E-mails regarding updates to the 

RED Web site and the opportunity to ask 

questions about the newly revised and 

enhanced RED tools and 

implementation via telephone and email. 

A diverse group of hospitals will be 

selected to receive each level of TA, 

based upon hospital size, location, 

readmission rate and patient 

population. Implementing the revised 

RED Toolkit in diverse settings will 

provide a better understanding of 

whether and how RED can be best 

implemented in different hospital 

settings. 

The project will be framed within a 

model of organizational change and 

transformation called the Organizational 

Transformation Model (OTM), which is 

based on the evaluation of Robert Wood 

Johnson Foundation’s Pursuing 

Perfection initiative. OTM identifies key 

elements that drive dramatic system 

change and informs the implementation 

process and impact evaluation. Using a 

mixed-methods design, the evaluation 

tracks change over time and across the 

implementation period within each 

hospital. The evaluation therefore will 

encompass feedback on specific 

implementation processes and factors in 

microsystems where RED is adopted, in 

the larger organizational context, and 

interactions between the two. 

This research study is being 

conducted by AHRQ through its 

contractor, BUMC, pursuant to AHRQ’s 

statutory authority to conduct and 

support research on healthcare and 

disseminate information on systems for 

the delivery of such care, including 

activities with respect to the quality, 

effectiveness, efficiency, 

appropriateness and value of healthcare 

services and with respect to quality 

measurement and improvement. 42 

U.S.C. 299(b) and 299a(a)(1) and (2). 

Method of Collection 

To achieve the projects’ goals, the 

following data collections and training 

will be implemented for the six 

hospitals that will receive intensive TA 

as well as the 4 hospitals receiving 

train-the trainer TA, unless otherwise 

noted: 

(1) Baseline needs assessment to help 

each hospital plan and prepare for 

implementation of the revised RED 

Toolkit and to evaluate it in varied 

settings (see Attachment C). This is not 

a data collection but will impose a time 

burden on the participating hospitals as 

they prepare to participate in this 

project. The purpose of the needs 

assessment is for the hospital to become 

familiar with their discharge process 

and what parts of the process are being 

done well and what parts of the process 

need improvement. In order to 

implement the new RED discharge 

process, it is important for a hospital to 

plan how they will do this. This 

information will be shared during the 

baseline key contact semi-structured 

interview. 

(2) Baseline key contact semistructured interviews will be 

administered by telephone, 

approximately two months prior to 

implementation, to the key contact at 

each of the ten study hospitals (see 

Attachment D). The purpose of the 

interview is to identify the 

implementation team, collect some 

basic information about the hospital, 

such as the number of beds and if 

electronic medical records are used, and 


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53308 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 168 / Tuesday, August 31, 2010 / Notices 

to establish the baseline readmission 

rate. 

(3) Monthly semi-structured 

interviews with the key contact or other 

implementation team member will be 

conducted monthly for 12 months after 

implementation (see Attachment E). 

These interviews will be conducted by 

phone with each of the six hospitals 

receiving intensive technical assistance 

(TA) (the two levels of TA are described 

above). The purpose of these interviews 

are to allow hospitals to share their 

experiences with implementing the 

revised RED Toolkit, their use of 

specific tools, changes resulting from 

using the tools and problems 

encountered implementing the revised 

RED Toolkit and how they are being 

addressed. 

(4) Baseline semi-structured 

interviews will be conducted prior to 

the implementation of the revised RED 

Toolkit with 15 hospital staff from each 

of the six study hospitals receiving 

intensive TA (see Attachment F). The 

purpose of this interview is to measure 

the staff’s opinion of the current 

discharge process, their perceived need 

for a redesigned process, and the 

perceived barriers and facilitators to 

redesigning the discharge process. 

(5) Post implementation semistructured interviews will be conducted 

12 months after the implementation of 

the revised RED Toolkit with 15 

hospital staff from each of the six study 

hospitals receiving intensive TA (see 

Attachment G). The purpose of this 

interview is to measure the staff’s 

opinion of the redesigned discharge 

process, which tools were used and 

their opinion of the tools, and the 

observed barriers and facilitators to 

redesigning the discharge process. 

(6) Patient surveys will be 

administered by telephone to a random 

sample of patients 30 days after being 

discharged from one of the six intensive 

TA study hospitals (see Attachment H). 

The purpose of this survey is to measure 

patient outcomes, including satisfaction 

with the care they received, 30-day 

hospital and emergency department 

visits, and physician appointments, to 

help determine the success of the RED 

Toolkit implementation in diverse 

patient populations. The survey will be 

administered by a hospital staff member 

to patients during the preimplementation period and again during 

the post-implementation period to 

compare patient outcomes. 

(7) Medical record review of patient 

outcomes at all ten study hospitals (see 

Attachment I). This data collection will 

be conducted both pre- and postimplementation of the revised RED 

Toolkit and will inform the success of 

the revised RED Toolkit implementation 

in diverse patient populations. 

Outcomes to be collected include 

process outcomes, such as primary care 

provider appointments scheduled prior 

to discharge, and patient outcomes, 

such as 30-day hospital and emergency 

department visits. 

(8) Master trainer training will be 

conducted with 3 staff members from 

each of the 4 hospitals receiving trainthe-trainer TA (see Attachment J). These 

people will be trained to administer the 

RED Toolkit and be able to use recorded 

webinar training sessions within their 

organization. They will be invited to 

travel to BUMC for a 2-day onsite 

orientation of the RED intervention. 

These people will meet with several 

members of the BUMC implementation 

team (physician leader, discharge 

advocate nurse) and will have the 

opportunity to shadow the nurse 

discharge advocates in conducting the 

RED intervention. 

(9) Intensive training will be 

conducted with about 28 staff from each 

of the 6 hospitals receiving intensive TA 

(see Attachment K). The training will 

consist of a two-day on-site orientation 

and training at each hospital conducted 

by the BUMC implementation team. The 

BUMC implementation team will 

consist of a physician researcher, a 

discharge advocate nurse, an 

organizational change champion/ 

evaluator and the information 

technology expert. The BUMC team will 

spend two days, 8 hours per day, to 

train the relevant hospital staff to 

perform the 11 components of the RED 

discharge. The training will include 

material for senior hospital 

management, hospital physicians, 

nurses, IT staff, and pharmacists. 

Estimated Annual Respondent Burden 

Exhibit 1 shows the estimated 

annualized burden hours associated 

with the respondent’s time to 

participate in this research. The baseline 

needs assessment will be conducted by 

staff at each of the 10 participating 

hospitals and takes about 8 hours to 

complete. Baseline key contact semistructured interviews will be conducted 

with the key contact at each hospital 

and requires 1 hour to complete. 

Monthly semi-structured interviews 

with the key contact or other 

implementation team member will be 

conducted monthly for 12 months after 

implementation. These interviews will 

be conducted by phone with each of the 

six hospitals receiving intensive TA and 

will require 1 hour to complete. Both 

the base-line and post-implementation 

semi-structured interviews will be 

conducted with 15 staff members from 

each of the 6 hospitals receiving 

intensive TA and will last about one 

hour. The patient survey will be 

administered twice, pre and post 

implementation, to 3,108 patients 

recently discharged from one of the 6 

hospitals receiving intensive TA and 

requires 10 minutes to complete. The 

patient survey will be administered by 

the hospital staff and will require 10 

minutes of their time to administer. 

Medical record review will be 

performed at all 10 participating 

hospitals both pre and post 

implementation and will take about 41.6 

hours. Master trainer training will be 

conducted with 3 staff members from 

each of the 4 hospitals receiving train 

the trainer TA and will last 16 hours. 

Intensive training will be conducted 

with about 28 staff members from each 

of the 6 hospitals receiving intensive TA 

and will also last 16 hours. The total 

annualized burden is estimated to be 

6,126 hours. 

Exhibit 2 shows the estimated 

annualized cost burden associated with 

the respondent’s time to participate in 

this research. The total annualized cost 

burden is estimated to be $194,163. 

EXHIBIT 1—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOURS

Form name Number of 

respondents 

Number of responses per 

respondent 

Hours per 

response 

Total burden 

hours 

Baseline needs assessment ............................................................................ 10 1 8 80 

Baseline key contact semi-structured interview .............................................. 10 1 1 10 

Monthly semi-structured interview ................................................................... 6 12 1 72 

Baseline semi-structured interview .................................................................. 6 15 1 90 

Post implementation semi-structured interview ............................................... 6 15 1 90 

Patient survey .................................................................................................. 3,108 2 10/60 1,036 


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EXHIBIT 1—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOURS—Continued 

Form name Number of 

respondents 

Number of responses per 

respondent 

Hours per 

response 

Total burden 

hours 

Administration of patient survey by hospital staff ............................................ 6 1,036 10/60 1,036 

Medical record review ...................................................................................... 10 2 41.6 832 

Master trainer training ...................................................................................... 4 3 16 192 

Intensive training .............................................................................................. 6 28 16 2,688 

Total .......................................................................................................... 3,172 na na 6,126 

EXHIBIT 2—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED COST BURDEN

Form name Number of 

respondents 

Total burden 

hours 

Average hourly wage rate* Total cost 

burden 

Baseline needs assessment ............................................................................ 10 80 a $41.94 $3,355 

Baseline key contact semi-structured interview .............................................. 10 10 b 51.91 519 

Monthly semi-structured interviews ................................................................. 6 72 c 40.91 2,946 

Baseline semi-structured interview .................................................................. 6 90 d 38.51 3,466 

Post implementation semi-structured interview ............................................... 6 90 e 38.51 3,466 

Patient survey .................................................................................................. 3,108 1,036 f 20.32 21,052 

Administration of patient survey by hospital staff ............................................ 6 1,036 b31.31 32,437 

Medical record review ...................................................................................... 10 832 g 17.32 14,410 

Master trainer training ...................................................................................... 4 192 h 31.31 6,012 

Intensive training .............................................................................................. 6 2,688 i 40.91 109,966 

Total .......................................................................................................... 3,172 6,126 na 194,163 

* Based upon the mean of the average wages, National Compensation Survey: Occupational wages in the United States May 2008, ‘‘U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.’’ 

(a) 75% Nurses (29–1111, $31.31/hr), 20% Physicians (29–1069, $79.33/hr) and 5% General and Operations Managers (29–1069, $51.91/hr). b 100% General and Operations Managers (29–1069, $51.91/hr). 

c 80% Nurses and 20% Physicians. 

d ande 85% Nurses and 15% Physicians. f 100% General public (00–0000, $20.32/hr). 

g 100% Statistical assistants (439111, $17.32/hr). 

h 100% Nurses. 

i 80% Nurses and 20% Physicians. 

Estimated Annual Costs to the Federal 

Government 

Exhibit 3 shows the total and 

annualized cost over the 18 months of 

this clearance. The total cost is 

$449,976. 

EXHIBIT 3—ESTIMATED TOTAL AND ANNUALIZED COST

Cost component Total cost Annual cost 

Project RED Toolkit Development ........................................................................................................................... $97,413 $64,942 

Dissemination Planning and Support ...................................................................................................................... 98,080 65,387 

Data Collection Activities ......................................................................................................................................... 84,563 56,375 

Data Processing and Analysis ................................................................................................................................. 52,215 34,810 

Publication of Results .............................................................................................................................................. 3,184 2,123 

Project Management ................................................................................................................................................ 28,892 19,261 

Overhead ................................................................................................................................................................. 85,629 57,086 

Total .................................................................................................................................................................. 449,976 299,984 

Request for Comments 

In accordance with the above-cited 

Paperwork Reduction Act legislation, 

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. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
53310 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 168 / Tuesday, August 31, 2010 / Notices 

Dated: August 20, 2010. 

Carolyn M. Clancy, 

Director. 

[FR Doc. 2010–21503 Filed 8–30–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4160–90–M 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention 

[60 Day 10–10GP] 

Proposed Data Collections Submitted 

for Public Comment and 

Recommendations 

In compliance with the requirement 

of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for 

opportunity for public comment on 

proposed data collection projects, the 

Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic 

summaries of proposed projects. 

Alternatively, to obtain a copy of the 

data collection plans and instrument, 

call 404–639–5960 and send comments 

to Maryam I. Daneshvar, CDC Reports 

Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road 

NE., MS–D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30333; 

comments may also be sent by e-mail to 

omb@cdc.gov. 

Comments are invited on (a) whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information shall have a 

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

proposed collection of information; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarify 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 information technology. Written 

comments should be received within 60 

days of this notice. 

Proposed Project 

Clostridium difficile Infection (CDI) 

Surveillance—New—National Center for 

Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious 

Diseases, (NCEZID), Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, (CDC). 

Background and Brief Description 

Steady increases in the rate and 

severity of Clostridium difficile 

infection (CDI) indicate a clear need to 

conduct longitudinal assessments of the 

impact of CDI in the United States. C. 

difficile is an anaerobic, spore-forming, 

gram positive bacillus that produces two 

pathogenic toxins: A and B. CDI ranges 

in severity from mild diarrhea to 

fulminant colitis and death. 

Transmission of C. difficile occurs 

primarily in healthcare facilities, where 

environmental contamination by C. 

difficile spores and exposure to 

antimicrobial drugs are common. No 

longer limited to healthcare 

environments, community-associated 

CDI is the focus of increasing attention. 

Recently, several cases of serious CDI 

have been reported in what have been 

considered low-risk populations, 

including healthy persons living in the 

community and peri-partum women. 

The surveillance population will 

consist of persons residing in the 

catchment area of the participating 

Emerging Infections Program (EIP) sites. 

This surveillance poses no more than 

minimal risk to the study participants as 

there will be no interventions or 

modifications to the care study 

participants receive. EIP surveillance 

personnel will perform active case 

finding from laboratory reports of stool 

specimens testing positive for C. 

difficile toxin and abstract data on cases 

using a standardized case report form. 

For a subset of cases (e.g., communityassociated C. difficile cases) sites will 

administer a health interview. Remnant 

stool specimens from cases testing 

positive for C. difficile toxin will be 

submitted to reference laboratories for 

culturing, and isolates will be sent to 

CDC for confirmation and molecular 

typing. Outcomes of this surveillance 

project will include the populationbased incidence of community- and 

healthcare-associated CDI, and a 

description of the molecular 

characteristics of C. difficile strains and 

the epidemiology of this infection 

among the population under 

surveillance. 

For this proposed data collection, 

there is no cost to respondents other 

than their time. An estimated total of 

8,750 CDI Surveillance Case Report 

Forms (CRFs) will be completed during 

a one-year study period. Approximately 

4,370 cases will require a completed 

CRF taking one hour; the remaining 

4,380 cases will only require a partially 

completed CRF taking 15 minutes. An 

estimated total of 500 CDI Surveillance 

Health Interviews (HI) will need to be 

completed for the same time period. The 

estimated time to complete the HI is 45 

minutes. Therefore, the total estimated 

annualized burden for this data 

collection is 5,840 hours. 

The proposed surveillance for CDI 

through the Emerging Infections 

Program will expand CDC capacity to 

monitor incidence of C. difficile in 

community and healthcare settings as 

well as to monitor and detect 

antimicrobial resistance. This activity 

supports the HHS Action Plan for 

elimination of healthcare-associated 

infections. 

ESTIMATE OF ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOURS

Forms Number of 

respondents 

Number of 

responses per 

respondent 

Average 

burden per 

response 

(in hours) 

Total burden 

(in hours) 

CDI Surveillance Case Report Form—Complete ............................................ 10 437 1 4,370 

CDI Surveillance Case Report Form—Partial ................................................. 10 438 15/60 1,095 

CDI Surveillance Health Interview ................................................................... 10 50 45/60 375 

Total .......................................................................................................... 5,840 


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