[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 1, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57062-57063]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-23031]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

[Docket ID: DoD-2008-HA-0120]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health 
Affairs, TRICARE Management Activity, DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, the Department of Defense, Office of the 
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, TRICARE Management 
Activity announces a proposed extension of a public information 
collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. Comments 
are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
information collection; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize 
the burden of the information collection on respondents, including 
through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by December 
1, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and 
title, by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    <bullet> Mail: Federal Docket Management System Office, 1160 
Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-1160.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency 
name, docket number and title for this Federal Register document. The 
general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the 
public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the 
Internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without 
change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on this 
proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposed and 
associated collection instruments, please write to the Office of the 
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, TRICARE Management 
Activity, Skyline Five, Suite 810, 5111 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 
22041-3206, or call at (703) 681-0064.
    Title and OMB Number: DoD Patient Safety Survey; OMB Control Number 
0720-0034.
    Needs and Uses: The 2001 National Defense Authorization Act 
contained specific sections addressing patient safety in military and 
veteran's health care systems. This legislation stated that the 
Secretary of Defense shall establish a patient care error reporting and 
management system to study occurrences of errors in patient care and 
that one of the purposes of the system should be ``To identify systemic 
factors

[[Page 57063]]

that are associated with such occurrences'' and ``To provide for action 
to be taken to correct the identified systemic factors'' (Sec. 754, 
items b2 and b3). In addition, the legislation stated that the 
Secretary shall ``Continue research and development investments to 
improve communication, coordination, and team work in the provision of 
health care'' (Sec. 754, item d4).
    In its ongoing response to this legislation, DoD implemented a Web-
based patient safety culture survey to a census of all staff working in 
Army, Navy, and Air Force Military Health System (MHS) facilities in 
the U.S. and internationally, including Military Treatment Facility 
(MTF) hospitals as well as ambulatory and dental services. The survey 
obtains MHS staff opinions on patient safety issues such as teamwork, 
communications, medical error occurrence and response, error reporting, 
and overall perceptions of patient safety. The purpose of the survey is 
to assess the current status of patient safety in MHS facilities as 
well as to provide baseline input for assessment of patient safety 
improvement over time. Survey results will be prepared at the facility 
and Service levels and MHS overall.
    Affected Public: Federal government; individuals or households.
    Annual Burden Hours: 2,384.
    Number of Respondents: 14,022.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Average Burden per Response: 10 minutes.
    Frequency: On occasion.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summary of Information Collection

Data Collection Method

    The patient safety culture survey is administered as a web-based 
instrument to a census of all staff, both clinical and non-clinical, 
working in all U.S. and international MHS facilities. Potential 
respondents will receive a pre-notification letter followed by an e-
mail survey notification containing an embedded hyperlink to the 
internet location where the survey can be completed. Two additional e-
mail survey notifications will be sent, a week apart, so that the data 
collection field period will be four weeks for each Service. The survey 
takes about 10 minutes to complete. All survey responses are voluntary 
and will be individually anonymous; only group-level results will be 
tabulated to protect individual anonymity.

    Dated: September 24, 2008.
Patricia L. Toppings,
OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
 [FR Doc. E8-23031 Filed 9-30-08; 8:45 am]
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