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[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 185 (Friday, September 23, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59133-59134]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24522]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[Document Identifier: CMS-10102]

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: National 
Implementation of Hospital Consumer

[[Page 59134]]

Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS); Use: The 
HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and 
Systems) survey is the first national, standardized, publicly reported 
survey of patients' perspectives of hospital care. HCAHPS (pronounced 
``H-caps''), also known as the CAHPS[supreg] Hospital Survey, is a 
survey instrument and data collection methodology for measuring 
patients' perceptions of their hospital experience. While many 
hospitals have collected information on patient satisfaction for their 
own internal use, until HCAHPS there was no national standard for 
collecting and publicly reporting information about patient experience 
of care that allowed valid comparisons to be made across hospitals 
locally, regionally and nationally.
    Three broad goals have shaped HCAHPS. First, the survey is designed 
to produce data about patients' perspectives of care that allow 
objective and meaningful comparisons of hospitals on topics that are 
important to consumers. Second, public reporting of the survey results 
creates new incentives for hospitals to improve quality of care. Third, 
public reporting serves to enhance accountability in health care by 
increasing transparency of the quality of hospital care provided in 
return for the public investment. With these goals in mind, the Centers 
for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken substantial steps to 
assure that the survey is credible, useful, and practical. Hospitals 
implement HCAHPS under the auspices of the Hospital Quality Alliance 
(HQA), a private/public partnership that includes major hospital and 
medical associations, consumer groups, measurement and accrediting 
bodies, government, and other groups that share an interest in 
improving hospital quality. Both the HQA and the National Quality Forum 
have endorsed HCAHPS.
    The enactment of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 created an 
additional incentive for acute care hospitals to participate in HCAHPS. 
Since July 2007, hospitals subject to the Inpatient Prospective Payment 
System (IPPS) annual payment update provisions (``subsection (d) 
hospitals'') must collect and submit HCAHPS data in order to receive 
their full IPPS annual payment update. IPPS hospitals that fail to 
publicly report the required quality measures, which include the HCAHPS 
survey, may receive an annual payment update that is reduced by 2.0 
percentage points. Non-IPPS hospitals, such as Critical Access 
Hospitals, may voluntarily participate in HCAHPS.
    The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 
111-148) includes HCAHPS among the measures to be used to calculate 
value-based incentive payments in the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing 
program, beginning with discharges in October 2012.
    Currently the HCAHPS survey asks discharged patients 27 questions 
about their recent hospital stay. The survey contains 18 core questions 
about critical aspects of patients' hospital experiences (communication 
with nurses and doctors, the responsiveness of hospital staff, the 
cleanliness and quietness of the hospital environment, pain management, 
communication about medicines, discharge information, overall rating of 
hospital, and would they recommend the hospital). The survey also 
includes four items to direct patients to relevant questions, three 
items to adjust for the mix of patients across hospitals, and two items 
that support Congressionally-mandated reports.
    This revision is being submitted in order to add five new items to 
the survey: Three items that comprise a Care Transitions composite; one 
item that asks whether the patient was admitted through the emergency 
room; and one item that asks about the patient's overall mental health. 
This marks the first addition of items to the HCAHPS Survey since its 
national implementation in 2006. Form Number: CMS-10102 (OCN: 0938-
0981); Frequency: Occasionally; Affected Public: Individuals or 
Households, Private Sector--Business or other for-profits and not-for-
profit institutions. Number of Respondents: 2,713,812; Total Annual 
Responses: 2,713,812; Total Annual Hours: 365,136. (For policy 
questions regarding this collection contact William Lehrman at 410-786-
1037. 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 E-mail 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 November 22, 2011:
    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: September 20, 2011.
Martique Jones,
Director, Regulations Development Group, Division B, Office of 
Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2011-24522 Filed 9-22-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P
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