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 Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
 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: “Assessing the Impact of the National Implementation of TeamSTEPPS Master Training Program.” In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed information collection.
 DATES: Comments on this notice must he received by July 2, 2010.
 ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: Doris Lefkowitz, Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, by e-mail 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 Assessing the Impact of the National Implementation of TeamSTEPPS Master Training Program As part of their effort to fulfill their mission goals, AHRQ, in collaboration with the Department of Defense's (DoD) Tricare Management Activity (TMA), developed TeamSTEPPS® (aka Team Strategies and Tools for Enhancing Performance and Patient Safety) to provide an evidence-based suite of tools and strategies for training teamwork-based patient safety to health care professionals. In 2007, AHRQ and DoD coordinated the national implementation of the TeamSTEPPS program. The main objective of this program is to improve patient safety by training a select group of stakeholders such as Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) personnel, High Reliability Organization (HRO) staff and healthcare system staff in various teamwork, communication, and patient safety concepts, tools, and techniques and ultimately helping to build a national infrastructure for supporting teamwork-based patient safety efforts in healthcare organizations and at the state level. The implementation includes the training of Master Trainers in various health care systems capable of stimulating the utilization and adoption of TeamSTEPPS in their health care delivery systems, providing technical assistance and consultation on implementing TeamSTEPPS, and developing various channels of learning (
                    *e.g.,*
                     user networks, various educational venues) for continuation support and improvement of teamwork in healthcare. During this effort, AHRQ has trained a corps of 2400 participants to serve as the Master Trainer infrastructure supporting national adoption of TeamSTEPPS. Participants in training become Master Trainers in TeamSTEPPS and are afforded the opportunity to observe the tools and strategies provided in the program in action. In addition to developing a corps of Master Trainers, AHRQ has also developed a series of support mechanisms for this effort including a data collection Web tool, a TeamSTEPPS call support center, and a monthly consortium to address any challenges encountered by implementers of TeamSTEPPS. To understand the extent to which this infrastructure of patient safety knowledge and skills has been created, AHRQ will conduct an evaluation of the National Implementation of TeamSTEPPS Master Training program. The goals of this evaluation are to examine the extent to which training participants have been able to: (1) Implement the TeamSTEPPS products, concepts, tools, and techniques in their home organizations and, (2) the extent to which participants have spread that training, knowledge, and skills to their organizations, local areas, regions, and states. This study is being conducted by AHRQ through its contractor, American Institutes for Research (AIR), pursuant to AHRQ's statutory authority to conduct and support research on healthcare and on systems for the delivery of such care, including activities with respect to the quality, 
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                    effectiveness, efficiency, appropriateness and value of healthcare services and with respect to quality measurement and improvement. 42 U.S.C. 299a(a)(1) and (2). Method of Collection *To achieve the goals of this assessment the following two data collections will be implemented:* (1) Web-based questionnaire to examine post-training activities and teamwork outcomes as a result of training from multiple perspectives. The questionnaire is directed to all master training participants. Items will cover post-training activities, implementation experiences, facilitators and barriers to implementation encountered, and perceived outcomes as a result of these activities. (2) Semi-structured interviews will he conducted with members from organizations who participated in the TeamSTEPPS Master Training program. Information gathered from these interviews will be analyzed and used to draft a “lessons learned” document that will capture additional detail on the issues related to participants' and organizations' abilities to implement and disseminate the TeamSTEPPS post-training. The organizations will vary in terms of type of organization (
                    *e.g.,*
                     QIO or hospital associations versus healthcare systems) and region (
                    *i.e.,*
                     Northeast, Midwest, Southwest, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, West Coast). In addition, we will strive to ensure representativeness of the site visits by ensuring that the distribution of organizations mirrors the distribution of organizations in the master training population. For example, if the distribution of organizations is such that only one out of every five organizations is a QIO, we will ensure that a maximum of two organizations in the site visit sample are QIOs. The interviews will more accurately reveal the degree of training spread for the organizations included. Interviewees will be drawn from qualified individuals serving in one of two roles (
                    *i.e.,*
                     implementers or facilitators). The interview protocol will be adapted for each role based on the respondent group and to some degree, for each individual, based on their training and patient safety experience. Estimated Annual Respondent Burden Exhibit I shows the estimated annualized burden hours for the respondent's time to participate in the study. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with a maximum of 9 individuals from each of 9 participating organizations and will last about one hour each. The training participant questionnaire will be completed by approximately 10 individuals from each of about 240 organizations and is estimated to require 20 minutes to complete. The total annualized burden is estimated to be 881 hours. Exhibit 2 shows the estimated annualized cost burden based on the respondents' time to participate in the study. The total cost burden is estimated to be $28,594. Exhibit 1—Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
Form name
Number of 
                             respondents
Number of 
                             responses per respondent
Hours per 
                             response
Total burden hoursSemi-structured interview
9
9
60/60
81Training participant questionnaire
240
10
20/60
800Total
249
NA
NA
881
 Exhibit 2—Estimated annualized cost burden
Form name
Number of 
                             respondents
Total burden hours
Average 
                             hourly wage rate *
Total cost 
                             burdenSemi-structured interview
9
81
$32.64
$2,644Training participant questionnaire
240
800
32.64
26,112Total
249
881
NA
28,756*
                         Based upon the mean of the average wages for all health professionals (29-0000) for the training participant questionnaire and for executives, administrators, and managers for the organizational leader questionnaire presented in the National Compensation Survey: Occupational Wages in the United States, May, 2008, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 
                        *http://www.bls.gov/​oes/​current/​oes_​nat.htm#b29-0000.*
 Estimated Annual Costs to the Federal Government Exhibit 3 shows the total cost for this one year project; since the project is for only one year these are also the annualized costs. The total cost to the government for this activity is estimated to be $181,521 to conduct the one-time questionnaire and conduct nine site visits, as well as to analyze and present all results. This amount includes costs for developing the data collection tools ($24,889); collecting the data ($10,667); and analyzing the data ($35,061) and reporting the findings ($12,903). Exhibit 3—Estimated Total and Annualized Cost
Cost component
Total costProject Development
$24,889Data Collection Activities
108,667Data Processing and Analysis
35,061Publication of Results
12,903Total
181,521
 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 healthcare research and healthcare 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) 
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                    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: April 22, 2010. Carolyn M. Clancy, Director.


[FR Doc. 2010-10199 Filed 4-30-10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4160-90-M