Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources And Services Administration

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection:

Comment Request

In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public

comment on proposed data collection projects (section 3506(c)(2)(A) of

Title 44, United States Code, as amended by the Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995, Public Law 104-13), the Health Resources and Services

Administration (HRSA) publishes periodic summaries of proposed projects

being developed

[[Page 53397]]

for submission to OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. To

request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of

the data collection plans and draft instruments, call the HRSA Reports

Clearance Officer on (301) 443-1891.

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 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 through the use of automated collection techniques or other

forms of information technology.

Proposed Project: Uniform Reporting System Client Demonstration

Project (URS): NEW

The Uniform Reporting System Client Demonstration Project (URS) was

established in 1994 to collect information from several Title I and

Title II grantees and their subcontracted service providers about their

individual clients. Demographic information, service utilization, and

health indicators of all clients receiving services at providers funded

by the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act are

collected twice each year. A unique identifier is used to protect the

anonymity of the clients, and as a further safeguard, this unique

identifier is encrypted before it is sent to HRSA.

HRSA initiated the URS to demonstrate (1) the feasibility of

collecting client level demographic and service data on HIV/AIDS

infected/affected clients across a network of service providers and (2)

the usefulness of these data for planning and evaluation purposes at

both the local and national levels. Through this system, HRSA sought to

overcome the limitations of the Annual Administrative Report (AAR), the

national reporting system for the Ryan White CARE Act. The AAR collects

data aggregated at the grantee level and has duplicated counts of

clients. The number of clients reported in the AAR overestimates by

approximately the true number of clients. In addition, AAR data are not

tied to any clinical or service outcome information at the client

level. The feasibility of collecting client data has been demonstrated.

The usefulness of these data for planning and evaluation purposes at

both the local and national level has become increasingly evident. A

number of client level analyses that were not possible with the AAR

have been undertaken.

In addition to meeting the goal of accountability to Congress,

clients, advocacy groups, and the general public, the URS supports

critical efforts by HRSA, state and local grantees, and providers to

assess the health outcomes and the service utilization patterns of the

individuals at these sites who are infected or affected by HIV/AIDS and

receive care at a provider funded by the Ryan White CARE Act.

Outcome specific and treatment measures are collected in the data

system; these will be asked only of medical providers. These data

elements seek to document whether current standards of care as

established by the Public Health Service are being adhered to at these

Ryan White CARE Act facilities. The core set of data elements are

largely unchanged from the AAR. Minor changes in the demographic data

elements have been made as a result of meetings and input from the

current URS grantees and their providers.

The estimated response burden is as follows:

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Responses Total

Medical records source Number of per Burden hour burden

respondents respondent hours

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Medical Providers........................................... 27,000 1 4 108,000

Case Managers, Mental Health, Substance Abuse Providers..... 32,000 1 1 32,000

Other Providers............................................. 35,000 1 .5 17,500

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Total................................................. 94,000 ........... ........... 157,500

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Send comments to Susan G. Queen, Ph.D., HRSA Reports Clearance

Officer, Room 14-33, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville,

MD 20857. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this

notice.

Dated: September 24, 1999.

Jane Harrison,

Director, Division of Policy Review and Coordination.

[FR Doc. 99-25555 Filed 9-30-99; 8:45 am]

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