[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 121 (Friday, June 24, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37874-37875]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13526]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration

[OMB No. 0906-xxxx-New]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Public Comment Request Information Collection Request Title: Optimizing 
Virtual Care Grant Program Performance Measures

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department 
of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, HRSA announces plans to submit an Information Collection 
Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks comments from the 
public regarding the burden estimate, below, or any other aspect of the 
ICR.

DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than August 23, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#85f5e4f5e0f7f2eaf7eec5edf7f6e4abe2eaf3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="582839283d2a2f372a3318302a2b39763f372e">[email protected]</span></a> or by mail to the 
HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, Room 14N136B, 5600 
Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and 
draft instruments, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e99988998c9b9e869b82a9819b9a88c78e869f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d3a3b2a3b6a1a4bca1b893bba1a0b2fdb4bca5">[email protected]</span></a> or call Samantha Miller, 
the acting HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at (301) 443-
9094.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting 
information, please include the information collection request title 
for reference.
    Information Collection Request Title: Optimizing Virtual Care Grant 
Program Performance Measures, OMB No. 0906-xxxx--New.
    Abstract: The Health Center Program and supplemental awards for 
health centers are authorized by Section 330(d) of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b(d)). Notably, HRSA is

[[Page 37875]]

authorized to make supplemental awards for health centers to 
``implement evidence-based models for increasing access to high-quality 
primary care services, which may include models related to expanding 
the use of telehealth and technology-enabled collaborative learning and 
capacity building models.'' Under the Optimizing Virtual Care (OVC) 
grant program, 29 high-performing health centers received 2-year one-
time funding supplemental awards to increase health care access and 
quality for underserved populations through virtual care such as 
telehealth, remote patient monitoring, digital patient tools, and 
health information technology platforms. Specifically, award recipients 
will use OVC funding to develop and implement innovative evidence-based 
strategies with the potential to be adapted, leveraged, and scaled 
across the Health Center Program to increase access to care and improve 
clinical quality by optimizing the use of virtual care with a specific 
focus on medically underserved communities and populations.
    The goal of the OVC grant program is to continue to support 
innovation that began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when health centers 
quickly expanded their use of virtual care to maintain access to 
essential primary care services for underserved communities. HRSA-
funded health centers serve medically underserved populations facing 
barriers to virtual care access, such as low digital literacy, low 
connectivity capabilities, or limited technology access. The OVC grant 
recipients will serve as a model for how to increase equitable virtual 
care, generating and refining strategies that can be adapted and scaled 
across the Health Center Program.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: The information collected 
on OVC grant recipient activities and performance will help HRSA 
demonstrate, adapt, assess, and disseminate promising practices, 
strategies, and novel models of virtual care across the nation's health 
centers. The information will support an assessment that yields:
    <bullet> Data on how to optimize the use of virtual care in the 
Health Center Program to enhance access to care and improve clinical 
quality for medically underserved communities and populations.
    <bullet> Information on how to adapt, leverage, and scale up the 
OVC grant program models across other HRSA funding opportunities.
    <bullet> Information on strategies to promote and scale virtual 
care innovations focused on increasing health equity for Health Center 
Program patients.

The assessment will include descriptive analyses of grant recipient 
activities and performance, including analyses of trends over time. The 
analyses will inform recommendations for performance measures that HRSA 
could scale across the Health Center Program and across other grant 
programs.
    The grant recipient activities related to implementation of novel 
models of virtual care, including aggregate data on patients served and 
the services they received, will be captured via monthly progress 
reports. A set of health center performance measures will be captured 
in a bi-annual progress report and will provide insight into health 
equity and virtual care. Grant recipients will collect and report 
performance measures based on project goals and objectives that span 
four key population health and clinical domain areas, including (1) 
Increased Access to Care and Information; (2) Improve Clinical Quality 
and Health Outcomes; (3) Enhance Patient Care Coordination; and (4) 
Promote Health Equity.
    Likely Respondents: Respondents will be the 29 health centers that 
received one-time funding supplemental awards through the Optimizing 
Virtual Care grant program.
    Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide the 
information requested. This includes the time needed to review 
instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and 
systems for the purpose of collecting, validating and verifying 
information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and 
providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to 
a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and 
review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise 
disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for 
this ICR are summarized in the table below.

                                     Total Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                                      Average
                                     Number of       Number of         Total        burden per     Total burden
            Form name               respondents    responses per     responses     response  (in       hours
                                                    respondent                        hours)
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OVC Monthly Progress Report.....              29              12             348               2             696
OVC Biannual Measures Report....              29               2              58              48           2,784
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    Total.......................              29  ..............             406  ..............           3,480
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    HRSA specifically requests comments on (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.

Maria G. Button,
Director, Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2022-13526 Filed 6-23-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P


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