33794 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 107 / Friday, June 3, 2022 / Notices 

(a) Based on the mean hourly wage for Medical and Health Services Managers (11–9111). 

(b) Based on the mean hourly wage for Chief Executives (11–1011). 

(c) Based on the mean hourly wages for Computer Programmer (15–1131). 

** The 300 POC listed for the registration form, hospital information form and the data use agreement are the estimated POC’s from the estimated participating hospitals. 

Request for Comments 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520, 

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 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: May 27, 2022. 

Marquita Cullom, 

Associate Director. 

[FR Doc. 2022–11883 Filed 6–2–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4160–90–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality 

Meeting for Software Developers on 

the Common Formats for Patient 

Safety Data Collection 

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research 

and Quality (AHRQ), Department of 

Health and Human Services (HHS). 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: AHRQ coordinates the 

development of sets of standardized 

definitions and formats (Common 

Formats) that make it possible to collect, 

aggregate, and analyze uniformly 

structured information about health care 

quality and patient safety for local, 

regional, and national learning. The 

Common Formats include technical 

specifications to facilitate the collection 

of electronically comparable data by 

Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs) and 

other entities. Additional information 

about the Common Formats can be 

obtained through AHRQ’s PSO website 

at https://pso.ahrq.gov/common-formats 

and the PSO Privacy Protection Center’s 

website at https://www.psoppc.org/ 

psoppc_web/publicpages/ 

commonFormatsOverview. The purpose 

of this notice is to announce a meeting 

to discuss implementation of the 

Common Formats with software 

developers and other interested parties. 

This meeting is designed as an 

interactive forum where software 

developers can provide input on use of 

the formats. AHRQ especially requests 

participation by and input from those 

entities which have used AHRQ’s 

technical specifications and 

implemented, or plan to implement, the 

Common Formats electronically. 

DATES: The meeting will be held from 

2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, 

June 30th, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held 

virtually. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Hamid Jalal, Medical Officer, Center for 

Quality Improvement and Patient 

Safety, AHRQ, 5600 Fishers Lane, 

Rockville, MD 20857; 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 and Quality 

Improvement Act of 2005, 42 U.S.C. 

299b–21 to 299b–26 (Patient Safety Act), 

and the related Patient Safety and 

Quality Improvement Final Rule, 42 

CFR part 3 (Patient Safety Rule), 

published in the Federal Register on 

November 21, 2008, 73 FR 70731– 

70814, provide for the Federal listing of 

Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs), 

which collect, aggregate, and analyze 

confidential information (patient safety 

work product) regarding the quality and 

safety of health care delivery. 

The Patient Safety Act requires PSOs, 

to the extent practical and appropriate, 

to collect patient safety work product 

from providers in a standardized 

manner that permits valid comparisons 

of similar cases among similar 

providers. (42 U.S.C. 299b–24(b)(1)(F)). 

The Patient Safety Act also authorizes 

the development of data standards, 

known as the Common Formats, to 

facilitate the aggregation and analysis of 

non-identifiable patient safety data 

collected by PSOs and reported to the 

network of patient safety databases 

(NPSD). (42 U.S.C. 299b–23(b)). The 

Patient Safety Act and Patient Safety 

Rule can be accessed at: http://

www.pso.ahrq.gov/legislation/. 

AHRQ has issued Common Formats 

for Event Reporting (CFER) for three 

settings of care—hospitals, nursing 

homes, and community pharmacies. As 

part of the agency’s efforts to improve 

diagnostic safety and quality in 

healthcare, AHRQ is in the process of 

developing Common Formats for Event 

Reporting—Diagnostic Safety (CFER– 

DS). 

Federally listed PSOs can meet the 

requirement to collect patient safety 

work product in a standardized manner 

to the extent practical and appropriate 

by using AHRQ’s Common Formats. The 

Common Formats are also available in 

the public domain to encourage their 

widespread adoption. An entity does 

not need to be listed as a PSO or 

working with one to use the Common 

Formats. However, the Federal privilege 

and confidentiality protections only 

apply to information developed as 

patient safety work product by 

providers and PSOs working under the 

Patient Safety Act. 

Agenda, Registration, and Other 

Information About the Meeting 

AHRQ will be hosting this fully 

virtual meeting to discuss 

implementation of the Common Formats 

with members of the public, including 

software developers and other interested 

parties. Agenda topics will include a 

presentation by the PSO Privacy 

Protection Center on ways to submit 

data, an update on the CFER–DS, and 

discussion of the data element for 

location/setting of patient safety events, 

including use of the Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention’s National 

Healthcare Safety Network location 

codes. Active participation and 

discussion by meeting participants is 

encouraged. Time will be allocated to 

engage meeting participants and foster 

active discussion. 

AHRQ requests that interested 

persons send an email to SDMeetings@

infinityconferences.com for registration 

information. Before the meeting, an 

agenda and logistical information will 

be provided to registrants. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 107 / Friday, June 3, 2022 / Notices 33795 

Dated: May 27, 2022. 

Marquita Cullom, 

Associate Director. 

[FR Doc. 2022–11943 Filed 6–2–22; 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: 

‘‘Hospital Survey on Patient Safety 

Culture Comparative Database.’’ 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by August 2, 2022. 

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 

‘‘Hospital Survey on Patient Safety 

Culture Comparative Database’’ 

The Hospital Survey on Patient Safety 

Culture (Hospital SOPS) is designed to 

enable hospitals to assess provider and 

staff perspectives about patient safety 

issues, medical error, and error 

reporting. The Hospital SOPS includes 

42 items that measure 12 composites of 

patient safety culture. AHRQ first made 

the Hospital SOPS publicly available, 

along with a Survey User’s Guide and 

other toolkit materials, in November, 

2004, on the AHRQ website. 

The Hospital SOPS Database consists 

of data from the AHRQ Hospital Survey 

on Patient Safety Culture and may 

include reportable, non-required 

supplemental items. Hospitals in the 

U.S. can voluntarily submit data from 

the survey to AHRQ, through its 

contractor, Westat. The Hospital SOPS 

Database (OMB NO. 0935–0162, last 

approved on August 21, 2019) was 

developed by AHRQ in 2006 in 

response to requests from hospitals 

interested in tracking their own survey 

results. Those organizations submitting 

data receive a feedback report, as well 

as a report of the aggregated deidentified findings of the other hospitals 

submitting data. These reports are used 

to assist hospital staff in their efforts to 

improve patient safety culture in their 

organizations. 

Rationale for the information 

collection. The Hospital SOPS and the 

Hospital SOPS Database support 

AHRQ’s goals of promoting 

improvements in the quality and safety 

of health care in hospital settings. The 

survey, toolkit materials, and database 

results are all made publicly available 

on AHRQ’s website. Technical 

assistance is provided by AHRQ through 

its contractor at no charge to hospitals, 

to facilitate the use of these materials for 

hospital patient safety and quality 

improvement. This database will: 

(1) present results from hospitals that 

voluntarily submit their data, 

(2) provide data to hospitals to 

facilitate internal assessment and 

learning in the patient safety 

improvement process, and 

(3) provide supplemental information 

to help hospitals identify their strengths 

and areas with potential for 

improvement in patient safety culture. 

This study is being conducted by 

AHRQ through its contractor, Westat, 

pursuant to AHRQ’s statutory authority 

to conduct and support research on 

health care and 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 surveys and 

database development. 42 U.S.C. 

299a(a)(1) and (8). 

Method of Collection 

(1) Eligibility and Registration Form— 

The hospital point-of-contact (POC) 

completes a number of data submission 

steps and forms, beginning with the 

completion of an online Eligibility and 

Registration Form. The purpose of this 

form is to collect basic demographic 

information about the hospital and 

initiate the registration process. 

(2) Data Use Agreement—The 

purpose of the data use agreement, 

completed by the hospital POC, is to 

state how data submitted by hospitals 

will be used and provide privacy 

assurances. 

(3) Hospital Site Information Form— 

The purpose of the site information 

form, also completed by the hospital 

POC, is to collect background 

characteristics of the hospital. This 

information will be used to analyze data 

collected with the Hospital SOPS 

survey. 

(4) Data Files Submission—POCs 

upload their data file(s), using hospital 

data file specifications, to ensure that 

users submit standardized and 

consistent data in the way variables are 

named, coded, and formatted. The 

number of submissions to the database 

is likely to vary each year because 

hospitals do not administer the survey 

and submit data every year. Data 

submission is typically handled by one 

POC who is either a patient safety 

manager in the hospital or a survey 

vendor who contracts with a hospital to 

collect and submit their data. POCs 

submit data on behalf of 3 hospitals, on 

average, because many hospitals are part 

of a health system that includes many 

hospitals, or the POC is a vendor that is 

submitting data for multiple hospitals. 

Estimated Annual Respondent Burden 

Exhibit 1 shows the estimated 

annualized burden hours for the 

respondents’ time to participate in the 

database. An estimated 340 POCs, 

representing an average of 3 individual 

hospitals each, will complete the 

database submission steps and forms 

annually. Each POC will submit the 

following: 

• Eligibility and registration form 

(completion is estimated to take about 3 

minutes). 

• Data Use Agreement (completion is 

estimated to take about 3 minutes). 

• Hospital Information Form 

(completion is estimated to take about 5 

minutes). 

• Survey data submission will take an 

average of one hour. 

The total annual burden hours are 

estimated to be 459 hours. 

Exhibit 2 shows the estimated 

annualized cost burden based on the 

respondents’ time to submit their data. 

The cost burden is estimated to be 

$28,044.90 annually. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES