OMB Submission Form -- Customer Satisfaction with AHRQs Quality Measurement Initiatives

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 0935-0179)

T ITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Customer Satisfaction with AHRQ’s Quality Measurement Initiatives

PURPOSE:

An important part of AHRQ’s mission is to disseminate information and tools that can support improvement in quality and safety in the U.S. health care community. The purpose of this project is to gather information on how users work with AHRQ Quality Measurement and Reporting Initiatives, including the AHRQ Quality Indicators (QI), AHRQ QI software, and My Own Network Powered by AHRQ (MONAHRQ). In recent years, there has been an increase in transparency of provider information in the U.S. through public reporting, and most of the States doing public reporting are opting to use AHRQ measures and tools. The AHRQ QIs are a transparent, evidence-based set of measures that are used in the CMS Hospital Compare and 26 states for public reporting and hundreds more for quality improvement. MONAHRQ gives states, communities, and others the software and tools they need to build their own Web sites for public reporting of quality measures quickly and inexpensively. No other public or private agency is creating an evidence-based tool for public reporting that is accessible to the public free-of-charge.

First released in 2000, the AHRQ QI software is now due for a redesign to accommodate the upcoming conversion to ICD-10. In addition, informal user feedback to AHRQ has suggested the need to improve the efficiency of the QI software. MONAHRQ continues to be enhanced with types of measures supported, the methodology and approach to display of the measures, and special customization features. Design changes need to incorporate the user needs as well as be able to integrate reliable technologies in the most efficient approach possible.

To achieve the goals of this project the following two surveys will be conducted:

1) MONAHRQ Host User Group Survey (see Attachment A) will be sent to members of the MONAHRQ user group. The purpose of the questionnaire is to better understand how users or potential users of the MONAHRQ software are implementing or would like to implement the software tool, determine the additional enhancements to the software tool they need, and assess the information that they need to be able to better support their dissemination of healthcare quality information.

2) HCUP Partners Software Redesign Questionnaire (see Attachment B) will be sent to members of the HCUP Partners group, many of whom are responsible for providing internal and/or public reports on the quality of their local health care. The purpose of the questionnaire is to better understand the uses of and needs for the QI software and determine the essential features of the software from the perspective of the HCUP Partners.

The information collected though this survey will help AHRQ better support users of the Quality Measurement Initiatives, help inform the software redesign to include features important to key users of the software, and identify the needs of users of the MONAHRQ software and reporting templates.

This study is being conducted by AHRQ through its contractors, Battelle, Truven Health Analytics and National Quality Forum, pursuant to AHRQ’s statutory authority to conduct and support research on health care and on systems for the delivery of such care, including activities with respect to the quality, effectiveness, efficiency, appropriateness and value of health care services and with respect to quality measurement and improvement. 42 U.S.C. 299a(a)(1) and (2).

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

The respondents will be users of the QI and MONAHRQ software, including Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Partners, MONAHRQ Host User Group members, MONAHRQ beta testers and Chartered Value Exchange (CVE) members. Members of these groups have a variety of backgrounds including data analysts, information technology analysts, state government staff members, health data organization leaders, quality improvement staff members, community health providers, epidemiologists, physicians, health care administrators, hospital association leaders, and health plan administrators.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [X] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software) [ ] Small Discussion Group

[] Focus Group [ ] Other: ______________________

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name:__Doris Lefkowitz____

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [X ] Yes [ ] No

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ X ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [ X ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants?

[ ] Yes [ X ] No

Category of Respondent: Private Sector and State, local, or tribal governments

BURDEN HOURS

Form Name	Number of respondents	Number of responses per respondent	Hours per response	Total burden hours
MONAHRQ Host User Group Questionnaire	50	1	15/60	12.5
HCUP Partners Software Redesign Questionnaire	50	1	15/60	12.5
Total	100	na	na	25

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is: $10,000

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [ X] Yes [ ] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

The customer list includes the HCUP Partners, MONAHRQ Learning Network, MONAHRQ beta testers, and the CVE members. The HCUP Partners are voluntary participants in a Federal-State-Industry partnership focused on bringing together the data collection efforts of State data organizations, hospital associations, private data organizations, and the Federal government to create a national information resource of patient-level health care data. HCUP Partners are users of the QI and MONAHRQ software and resources. The MONAHRQ Learning Network members are a group of individuals who have previously provided feedback to the AHRQ on the QI and MONAHRQ software and who continue to engage with the software updates via the email listserv. The MONAHRQ beta testers work closely with the software developers in creating the MONAHRQ software and have provided their contact information to AHRQ to help participate in MONAHRQ’s improvement. The CVE members are potential users of the QI and MONAHRQ software in their public reporting efforts.

Surveys will be sent to all persons on the contact list, and they will be encouraged to forward the announcement to QI and/or MONAHRQ software users in their organizations. Survey participants will be asked if they would like to provide their contact information, if they have additional questions or comments that they would like to share or want to discuss issues with AHRQ directly.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[X ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [X ] No

List of Attachments:

Attachment A -- MONAHRQ Host User Group Questionnaire

Attachment B -- HCUP Partners Software Redesign Questionnaire