73826 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 248 / Friday, December 28, 2007 / Notices 

questionnaire will be mailed to the 

respondent. 

ESTIMATED ANNUAL RESPONDENT BURDEN

Form Name Number of respondents 

Number of responses per 

respondent 

Hours per response Total burden 

hours 

AHRQ Grantee Survey .................................................................................... 149 1 2 298 

Total ................................................................................................................. 149 na na 298 

ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED RESPONDENT COST BURDEN

Form Name Number of respondents 

Total burden 

hours 

Average hourly wage rate* Total cost burden 

AHRQ Grantee Survey .................................................................................... 149 298 $42.98 $12,808 

Total ................................................................................................................. 149 298 na $12,808 

*Based upon the mean of the average wages for teachers (college and university), National Compensation Survey: Occupational Wages in the 

United States 2005, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Estimated Annual Costs to the Federal 

Government 

The proposed information collection 

is part of a larger evaluation of the 

effectiveness of AHRQ’s grant-supported 

research on healthcare costs, 

productivity, and market forces, which 

includes a systematic review of the 

research that AHRQ has funded, indepth interviews with grantees and 

grant document review, case studies to 

assess the effects and dissemination 

pathways of market forces research, and 

preparation of reports and briefings. The 

cost to conduct the survey of identified 

grantees is $38,962. 

Request for Comments 

In accordance with the above-cited 

Paperwork Reduction Act legislation, 

comments on the AHRQ information 

collection proposal are requested with 

regard to any of the following: (a) 

Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of functions of the Agency, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of 

the Agency’s estimate of the burden 

(including hours and costs) of the 

proposed collection 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 

on 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 request for OMB approval of the 

proposed information collection. All 

comments will become a matter of 

public record. 

Dated: December 17, 2007. 

Carolyn M. Clancy, 

Director. 

[FR Doc. 07–6187 Filed 12–27–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4160–90–M 

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: ‘‘Focus 

Groups on Consumer Engagement in 

Developing Electronic Health 

Information Systems.’’ In accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(2)(A)), AHRQ invites the public 

to comment on this proposed 

information collection. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by February 26, 2008. 

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 

e-mail at doris.lefkowitz@ahrq.hhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Proposed Project 

‘‘Focus Groups on Consumer 

Engagement in Developing Electronic 

Health Information Systems’’

This project will consist of focus 

groups to gain insights into healthcare 

consumers’ awareness and perceptions 

of Health Information Technology (IT), 

and how best to engage consumers in 

the development of these technologies. 

AHRQ has so far invested significant 

resources in initiatives to promote the 

planning and development of new 

Health IT that should improve 

healthcare, lower healthcare costs, and 

improve patient safety. For such 

benefits to be maximized, it is important 

to understand how consumers view 

Health IT and how to engage them in 

the design and implementation of future 

innovations. 

AHRQ will conduct 20 focus groups 

(in addition to two pretest groups) with 

healthcare consumers, that is persons 

who have visited a healthcare provider 

(either for their own health or the health 

of a family member) in the previous two 

years. For the most part, the groups will 

be homogenous with respect to the 

presence or absence of either of the 

following characteristics: (a) Managing a 

chronic health condition (or the 

condition of a close family member), or 

(b) Having visited at least three 

healthcare providers in the past two 

years. 

Participants will be covered by a 

range of health insurance plans, and 

persons not covered by health insurance 

will also be recruited. Some groups will 

include only persons enrolled in a 

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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 248 / Friday, December 28, 2007 / Notices 73827 

Health Maintenance Organization 

(HMO). 

The data to be collected for this 

project will be in two forms: (a) answers 

to a screener questionnaire designed to 

identify and recruit eligible participants, 

and (b) verbal reports—i.e., focus group 

participants’ answers to questions posed 

by the moderator and reactions to 

comments of other group members. The 

focus group discussions will be audiotaped with participants’ consent and 

transcribed for analysis purposes. 

Method of Collection 

Participants will be screened for 

eligibility and recruited for the focus 

groups by telephone. The focus group 

sessions will be conducted in-person 

with approximately 10 persons per 

group. The focus group discussion will 

take approximately 2 hours, and we 

have assumed a 20-minute travel time 

(each way) per participant. Thus, focus 

group participation will require 2.67 

hours per response. 

Estimated Annual Respondent Burden 

TABLE 1.—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOURS

Form name Number of 

respondents 

Number of 

responses per 

respondent 

Hours per 

response 

Total burden 

hours 

Recruiting Screener ......................................................................................... 2,200 1 5/60 183 

Focus Group Discussion Guide ....................................................................... 220 1 2.67 587 

Total ................................................................................................................. 2,420 na na 770 

TABLE 2.—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED COST BURDEN

Form name Number of 

respondents 

Total burden 

hours 

Average 

hourly wage 

rate* 

Total cost 

burden 

Recruiting Screener ......................................................................................... 2,200 183 $17 $3,111 

Focus Group Discussion Guide ....................................................................... 220 587 17 9,979 

Total ................................................................................................................. 2,420 770 na 13,090 

*Based upon the mean hourly wage of full-time workers, third-quarter of 2007. Current Population Survey, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau 

of Labor Statistics. 

Estimated Annual Costs to the Federal 

Government 

Based on the current budget for the 

project, the total cost to the Federal 

Government is $257,474 ($251,114 of 

contractor costs + $6,360 of travel and 

time cost for AHRQ employees) for the 

18-month period from Oct. 1st, 2007 to 

March 31st, 2009. The annualized cost 

is approximately $171,649. This amount 

includes all direct and indirect costs of 

the design, data collection, analysis, and 

reporting phases of the study. The costs 

of Federal employees for monitoring the 

contract are $5,660. 

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 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: December 17, 2007. 

Carolyn M. Clancy, 

Director. 

[FR Doc. 07–6188 Filed 12–27–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4160–90–M 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Agency For Healthcare Research and 

Quality 

Notice of Meeting 

In accordance with section 10(d) of 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

U.S.C., Appendix 2), announcement is 

made of a Health Care Policy and 

Research Special Emphasis Panel (SEP) 

meeting. 

A Special Emphasis Panel is a group 

of experts in fields related to health care 

research who are invited by the Agency 

for Healthcare Research and Quality 

(AHRQ), and agree to be available, to 

conduct on an as needed basis, 

scientific reviews of applications for 

AHRQ support. Individual members of 

the Panel do not attend regularlyscheduled meetings and do not serve for 

fixed terms or a long period of time. 

Rather, they are asked to participate in 

particular review meetings which 

require their type of expertise. 

Substantial segments of the upcoming 

SEP meeting listed below will be closed 

to the public in accordance with the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, 

section 10(d) of 5 U.S.C., Appendix 2 

and 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(6). Grant 

applications for the Announcement of 

Availability of Funds for Grants 

regarding National Research Service 

Award Institutional Research Training 

Grant (T32) applications are to be 

reviewed and discussed at this meeting. 

These discussions are likely to reveal 

personal information concerning 

individuals associated with the 

applications. This information is 

exempt from mandatory disclosure 

under the above-cited statutes. 

SEP Meeting on: National Research 

Service Award Institutional Research 

Training Grant (T32) applications. 

Date: January 31–February 1, 2008 

(Open on January 31 from 8:30 a.m. to 

8:45 a.m. and closed for the remainder 

of the meeting). 

Place: Gaithersburg Marriott 

Washingtonian Center, Marriott 

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