Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 107 / Monday, June 4, 2012 / Notices 32975 

OWH is requesting two years of OMB approval to enable sampling, screening, 

and survey implementation. 

ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN TABLE

Type of respondent Form name Number of 

respondents 

Number 

responses per 

respondent 

Average 

burden per 

response 

(in hours) 

Total burden 

(in hours) 

Medical Secretary ............................. Screener ........................................... 1,300 1 5/60 108 

Physician ........................................... Survey .............................................. 600 1 20/60 200 

Total ........................................... ........................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 308 

Keith A. Tucker, 

Office of the Secretary, Paperwork Reduction 

Act Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2012–13396 Filed 6–1–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4150–33–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality 

Patient Safety Organizations: Expired 

Listing for The American Cancer 

Biorepository, Inc. d/b/a American 

Collaborative Biorepository or ‘‘ACB’’ 

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research 

and Quality (AHRQ), HHS. 

ACTION: Notice of delisting. 

SUMMARY: AHRQ has delisted The 

American Cancer Biorepository, Inc. 

d/b/a American Collaborative 

Biorepository or ‘‘ACB’’ as a Patient 

Safety Organization (PSO) due to its 

failure to seek continued listing. 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 Midnight 

ET (2400) on April 21, 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.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Patient Safety Act, Public Law 

109–41, 42 U.S.C. 299b–21—b–26, 

provides for the formation of PSOs, 

which collect, aggregate, and analyze 

confidential information regarding the 

quality and safety of health care 

delivery. The Patient Safety Rule, 42 

CFR part 3, authorizes AHRQ, on behalf 

of the Secretary of HHS, to list as a PSO 

an entity that attests that it meets the 

statutory and regulatory requirements 

for listing. A PSO can be ‘‘delisted’’ by 

the Secretary if it is found to no longer 

meet the requirements of the Patient 

Safety Act and Patient Safety Rule. 

Section 3.108(d) of the Patient Safety 

Rule requires AHRQ to provide public 

notice when it removes an organization 

from the list of federally approved 

PSOs. Accordingly, The American 

Cancer Biorepository, Inc. d/b/a 

American Collaborative Biorepository or 

‘‘ACB’’, PSO number P0036, was 

delisted effective at 12:00 Midnight ET 

(2400) on April 21, 2012. 

More information on PSOs can be 

obtained through AHRQ’s PSO Web site 

at http://www.pso.AHRQ.gov/ 

index.html. 

Dated: May 22, 2012. 

Carolyn M. Clancy, 

Director. 

[FR Doc. 2012–13307 Filed 6–1–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4160–90–M 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality 

AHRQ Workgroups on ICD–10–CM/ 

PCS Conversion of Quality Indicators 

(QIs) 

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research 

and Quality (AHRQ), HHS. 

ACTION: Notice of request for 

nominations. 

SUMMARY: The Agency for Healthcare 

Research and Quality (AHRQ) is seeking 

nominations for members of 

approximately 10 multidisciplinary 

workgroups, to be convened by AHRQ’s 

contractor, on ICD–10–CM/PCS 

conversion of the AHRQ Quality 

Indicators (QIs). 

DATES: Please submit nominations on or 

before June 29, 2012. Self-nominations 

are welcome. Third-party nominations 

must indicate that the individual has 

been contacted and is willing to serve 

on the workgroup. Selected candidates 

will be notified no later than July 13, 

2012. 

ADDRESSES: Nominations can be sent in 

the form of a letter or email, preferably 

as an electronic file with an email 

attachment and should specifically 

address the submission criteria as noted 

below. Electronic submissions are 

strongly encouraged. Responses should 

be submitted to: ATTN: John Bott, 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality, Center for Delivery, 

Organization and Markets, 540 Gaither 

Road, Room 5119, Rockville, MD 20850, 

Email: john.bott@AHRQ.hhs.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

Bott, Agency for Healthcare Research 

and Quality, Center for Delivery, 

Organization and Markets, 540 Gaither 

Road, Room 5119, Rockville, MD 20850, 

Email: john.bott@AHRQ.hhs.gov; Phone: 

(301) 427–1317; Fax: (301) 427–1430. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: These 

workgroups are being formed as part of 

a structured approach for converting the 


ebenthall on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
32976 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 107 / Monday, June 4, 2012 / Notices 

existing QI specifications from ICD–9– 

CM to ICD–10–CM/PCS, incorporating 

coding expertise, clinical expertise, and 

health services research/quality 

measurement expertise. The workgroups 

will evaluate the results of automated 

‘‘code mapping’’ from ICD–9–CM to 

ICD–10–CM/PCS, providing input and 

advice regarding similarities and 

differences between ICD–9–CM and 

ICD–10–CM/PCS codes that are mapped 

to each other. This workgroup process 

will lead to recommendations regarding 

how the existing AHRQ QIs should be 

re-specified using ICD–10–CM/PCS 

codes, retaining the original clinical 

intent of each indicator while taking 

advantage of the greater specificity of 

ICD–10–CM/PCS to improve the 

indicator’s validity. Workgroup 

participation will be uncompensated. 

For additional information about the 

AHRQ QIs, please visit the AHRQ Web 

site at http:// 

www.QUALITYindicators.AHRQ.gov. 

Specifically, each Workgroup on ICD– 

10–CM/PCS Conversion of Quality 

Indicators will consist of: 

• At least three individuals with 

relevant clinical expertise (e.g., 

cardiovascular disease, neurologic 

disease, orthopedic and musculoskeletal 

disease, obstetrics and gynecologic 

disease, surgery, critical care and 

pulmonary disease, diabetes and 

endocrine disease, infectious disease, 

neonatology and pediatric disease, 

miscellaneous) and at least two 

individuals with relevant coding 

expertise. 

• One or more individuals with field 

experience using AHRQ QI measures for 

assessing hospital performance. 

• One or more individuals with 

expertise in validating ICD–9–CM or 

ICD–10–CM/PCS codes using chart 

abstraction (to assess criterion validity), 

or otherwise assessing their accuracy 

and usefulness in identifying 

individuals with specific adverse 

outcomes. 

• One or more individuals with 

experience using data from the AHRQ 

Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project 

or similar data for the purpose of 

calculating AHRQ QIs. 

Submission Criteria 

To be considered for membership on 

a QI ICD–10–CM/PCS Conversion 

Workgroup, please send the following 

information for each nominee: 

1. A brief nomination letter 

highlighting experience and knowledge 

relevant to the development, 

refinement, or testing of quality 

measures based on ICD9–CM and/or 

ICD–10–CM/PCS coded data, and 

demonstrating familiarity with the 

AHRQ QIs and health care 

administrative data. (See selection 

criteria below.) The nominee’s clinical 

or coding profession and specialty, and 

the spectrum of his or her clinical or 

coding expertise, should be described. 

Please include full contact information 

of nominee: name, title, organization, 

mailing address, telephone and fax 

numbers, and email address. 

2. Curriculum vita (with citations to 

any pertinent publications related to 

quality measure specification, ICD–9– 

CM, or ICD–10–CM/PCS). 

3. Description of any financial 

interest, recent conduct, or current or 

planned commercial, non-commercial, 

institutional, intellectual, public 

service, or other activities pertinent to 

the potential scope of the workgroups, 

which could be perceived as influencing 

the workgroup’s process or 

recommendations. The objective is not 

to prevent nominees with potential 

conflicts of interest from serving on the 

panels, but to obtain such information 

so as to best inform the selection of 

workgroup members, and to help 

minimize such conflicts. 

Nominee Selection Criteria 

Nominees should have technical 

expertise in health care quality measure 

development, refinement, or 

application, and familiarity with the 

ICD–9–CM and ICD–10–CM/PCS code 

sets (especially insofar as they are used 

to specify quality measures). 

More specifically, each candidate will 

be evaluated using the following 

criteria: 

• Knowledge of health care quality 

measurement using administrative data 

in specific, relevant clinical domains 

(e.g., cardiovascular disease, neurologic 

disease, orthopedic and musculoskeletal 

disease, obstetrics and gynecologic 

disease, surgery, critical care and 

pulmonary disease, diabetes and 

endocrine disease, infectious disease, 

neonatology and pediatric disease, 

miscellaneous); 

• Peer-reviewed publications relevant 

to developing, refining, testing, or 

applying health care quality measures 

based on ICD-coded administrative data; 

• Other experience developing, 

refining, testing, or applying health care 

quality measures based on ICD-coded 

administrative data; 

• Expertise in ICD–9–CM and/or ICD– 

10–CM/PCS coding; 

• Expertise in hospital quality 

improvement, patient safety, and/or 

clinical documentation improvement; 

• Familiarity with the AHRQ Quality 

Indicators and their application; and, 

• Availability to participate in 

conference calls and provide written 

comments starting from late July 

through October 2012. 

Time Commitment 

In an effort to solicit expert input and 

recommendations on conversion of the 

AHRQ QIs from ICD–9–CM to ICD–10– 

CM/PCS, we are initiating a technical 

review process that will require 

participation in approximately three to 

five conference calls with some pre and 

post evaluation time (estimated at 13 

hours). Results from this process will 

influence the conversion of the AHRQ 

QI from ICD–9–CM to ICD–10–CM/PCS. 

Beginning in late July through October, 

selected nominees will be asked to 

participate in the following activities: 

Workgroup Activities 

1. Review the current ICD–9–CM 

specifications of AHRQ QIs within the 

workgroup’s clinical domain (e.g., 

cardiovascular disease, neurologic 

disease, orthopedic and musculoskeletal 

disease, obstetrics and gynecologic 

disease, surgery, critical care and 

pulmonary disease, diabetes and 

endocrine disease, infectious disease, 

neonatology and pediatric disease, 

miscellaneous), along with background 

documents justifying or explaining 

those specifications (about 1.5 hours). 

2. Participate in teleconference to 

explain the workgroup activities and 

processes, and to discuss current QI 

specifications and their justification (1.0 

hours). 

3. Review proposed mapping of ICD– 

9–CM to ICD–10–CM/PCS codes and 

identify relevant questions and concerns 

(about 3 hours). 

4. Participate in teleconference to 

discuss the proposed mappings, 

including relevant questions and 

concerns (1.5 hours). 

5. Following a structured process 

(e.g., modified Delphi), provide specific 

input to support or modify the proposed 

mappings (about 2.5 hours). 

6. Participate in teleconference to 

discuss areas of disagreement among 

workgroup members, and to achieve 

consensus when possible (1.5 hours). 

7. Following a structured process 

(e.g., modified Delphi), provide specific 

input to support or modify the proposed 

mappings, incorporating changes 

accepted in previous steps (about 1.0 

hour). 

8. Participate in final (optional) 

teleconference to review final 

recommendations and discuss 

contextual issues (1.0 hour). 

Please note that should additional 

conference calls be necessary, 

workgroup members are expected to 

make every effort to participate. The 

workgroups will conduct business by 


ebenthall on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 107 / Monday, June 4, 2012 / Notices 32977 

telephone, email, or other electronic 

means as needed. 

Background 

The AHRQ Quality Indicators (AHRQ 

QIs) are a unique set of measures of 

health care quality that make use of 

readily available hospital inpatient 

administrative data. The QIs have been 

used for various purposes. Some of 

these include tracking, hospital selfassessment, reporting of hospitalspecific quality or pay for performance. 

The AHRQ QIs are provider- and arealevel quality indicators and currently 

consist of four modules: the Prevention 

Quality Indicators (PQI), the Inpatient 

Quality Indicators, the Patient Safety 

Indicators (PSI), and the Pediatric 

Quality Indicators (PedQIs). AHRQ is 

committed to converting the QIs from 

ICD–9–CM to ICD–10–CM/PCS in an 

accurate and transparent manner, taking 

advantage of the additional specificity 

of ICD–10–CM/PCS to improve the 

validity and usefulness of the QIs, from 

October 2014 onward. 

Dated: May 24, 2012. 

Carolyn M. Clancy, 

Director, AHRQ. 

[FR Doc. 2012–13306 Filed 6–1–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4160–90–M 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[Document Identifier: CMS–10390] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services, HHS. 

In compliance with the requirement 

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

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services (CMS) is publishing the 

following summary of proposed 

collections for public comment. 

Interested persons are invited to send 

comments regarding this burden 

estimate or any other aspect of this 

collection of information, including any 

of the following subjects: (1) The 

necessity and utility of the proposed 

information collection for the proper 

performance of the agency’s functions; 

(2) the accuracy of the estimated 

burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and (4) the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology to 

minimize the information collection 

burden. 

1. Type of Information Collection 

Request: Revision of a currently 

approved collection; Title of 

Information Collection: Hospice Quality 

Reporting Program; Use: Section 

1814(i)(5) of the Social Security Act (the 

Act) added by section 3004 of the 

Patient Protection and Affordable Care 

Act, Public Law 111–148, enacted on 

March 23, 2010 (Affordable Care Act) 

authorizes the Secretary to establish a 

quality reporting for hospices. Section 

1814(i)(5)(A)(i) of the Act requires the 

Secretary, beginning with FY 2014, 

reduce the market basket update by 2 

percentage points for any hospice that 

does not comply with the quality data 

submission requirements with respect to 

that fiscal year. 

The Hospice Quality Data Submission 

Form was created for hospice providers 

to collect specified quality data and 

submit that data to CMS, for the data 

collection period starting October 1, 

2012, through December 31, 2012, and 

continuing on a calendar year thereafter. 

Webinar training on data collection and 

data submission has been and will 

continue to be provided by CMS. Use of 

the Hospice Quality Data Submission 

Form is necessary in order for hospices 

to submit the quality data specified for 

the Hospice Quality Reporting Program. 

Form Number: CMS–10390 (OCN: 

0938–1153); Frequency: Yearly; Affected 

Public: Individuals and households; 

Number of Respondents: 3632; Total 

Annual Responses: 7264; Total Annual 

Hours: 657,392. (For policy questions 

regarding this collection contact Robin 

Dowell at 410–786–0060. For all other 

issues call 410–786–1326.) 

To obtain copies of the supporting 

statement and any related forms for the 

proposed paperwork collections 

referenced above, access CMS’ Web Site 

address at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ 

PaperworkReductionActof1995, or email 

your request, including your address, 

phone number, OMB number, and CMS 

document identifier, to 

Paperwork@cms.hhs.gov, or call the 

Reports Clearance Office on (410) 786– 

1326. 

In commenting on the proposed 

information collections please reference 

the document identifier or OMB control 

number. To be assured consideration, 

comments and recommendations must 

be submitted in one of the following 

ways by August 3, 2012: 

1. Electronically. You may submit 

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) 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. 

Dated: May 29, 2012. 

Martique Jones, 

Director, Regulations Development Group, 

Division B, Office of Strategic Operations and 

Regulatory Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2012–13402 Filed 6–1–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[Docket No. FR–5600–FA–17] 

Announcement of Funding Awards for 

Fiscal Year 2012 Transformation 

Initiative: Choice Neighborhoods 

Demonstration Small Research Grant 

Program 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Policy Development and 

Research, HUD. 

ACTION: Announcement of funding 

awards. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 

102(a)(4)(C) of the Department of 

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 

Reform Act of 1989, Appendix A of this 

notice announces HUD’s funding 

awards for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 

Transformation Initiative: Choice 

Neighborhoods Demonstration Small 

Research Grant Program (‘‘Choice 

research grants’’). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul 

Joice, Office of Policy Development and 

Research, U.S. Department of Housing 

and Urban Development. Room 8120, 

451 7th Street SW., Washington, DC 

20410. Paul.A.Joice@hud.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of the Choice research grants 

program is to fund research related to 

Choice Neighborhoods that 

complements other Choice 

Neighborhoods research being pursued 

by HUD. On January 19, 2012, HUD 

published the Notice of Funding 

Availability (NOFA) announcing 

$500,000 in funds available for the 

Choice research grants program. On 

February 22, 2012, HUD published a 

technical correction to the NOFA, to 

provide additional details about other 


ebenthall on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES