[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 242 (Thursday, December 17, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69635-69637]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33422]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Care Financing Administration
[Document Identifier HCFA-R-268]
Emergency Clearance: Public Information Collection Requirements
Submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
In compliance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Health Care Financing
Administration (HCFA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS),
is publishing the following summary of proposed collections for public
comment. They invite interested persons to send comments regarding this
burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information,
including any of the following subjects: (1) The necessity of the
utility of the proposed information collection for the proper
performance of the agency's functions; (2) the accuracy of the
estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information to be collected; and (4) the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of information technology to
minimize the information collection burden.
We are, however, requesting an emergency review of the information
collection referenced below. In compliance with the requirement of
section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we have
submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the following
requirements for emergency review. Due to the unanticipated event and
the fact that this collection of this information is needed before the
expiration of the normal time limits under OMB's regulations at 5 CFR,
Part 1320, we are requesting an emergency review.
The purpose of this submission is to request approval to collect
information from Internet users as they exit from any of three web
sites of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS):
medicare.gov, 4woman.gov, and healthfinder.gov, which are respectively
provided by the Health Care Financing Administration, the Office of
Women's Health and the Office of Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion (ODPHP). The latter two agencies are within the DHHS Office
of Public Health and Science (OPHS). Obtaining feedback from users of
these web sites is critical for these three agencies so that the
agencies can continually revise the sites to respond to the needs of
the public. As part of the effort to decide how these web sites can
serve the public best, we request approval from OMB of ``bounceback''
forms. Internet users will fill out a bounceback form after visiting
any of the web sites. They will compile and study the results of the
forms so that the needs and preferences of the people who use the web
sites guide future revisions to the web sites .
The present request is for OMB authorization to collect data on the
reactions of users of all three federally mandated web sites. We will
use the data to improve the web sites so that can best serve the needs
of the users. The designers of medicare.gov will introduce changes to
their site at various times in 1999. The Surgeon General recently
announced the 4woman.gov web site on November 16, 1998. They will
update and enhance the site often in the immediate future. The
designers of the healthfinder.gov web site are preparing new sections,
functionality, and updates for release March 18, 1999. They request
expedited review of this submission so that pending enhancements and
updates incorporate information collected from users. With an expedited
review, the staff of these web sites will have findings in sufficient
time to guide the revisions planned for the sites. Without receiving
feedback from users of these sites, the developers of the sites would
have little information from the perspective of actual users to guide
the changes. Besides the need for having feedback to carry out
anticipated changes in the web sites, each of the three World Wide Web
[[Page 69636]]
sites was created through Federal law and requires a systematic
assessment.
One provision under the 1997 Balanced Budget Act (Pub. L. 105-33)
established that we provide information to Medicare beneficiaries to
promote informed choice on their expanded health care options. One
activity for widely disseminating information on coverage options,
which they required, was the creation of ``an Internet site through
which individuals may electronically obtain information on such options
and Medicare+Choice (M+C) plans in states that they offer M+C plans.''
As a result, the medicare.gov site was created to provide Medicare
beneficiaries, their caregivers, and partners with an official source
for Medicare information on the Internet. Comprehensive information for
Medicare beneficiaries and anyone involved in helping them with their
health care decisions is available on the medicare.gov web site;
critical topics include: managed care and the ``Medicare+Choice''
options; contact information; publications in dual languages (English
and Spanish); preventive services now available; detecting and
reporting fraud and abuse; and data on nursing homes. We need to
receive quick feedback from beneficiaries and partners about the
content of the site to ensure that we are meeting their needs and
whether the site functions well. Given that we have recently launched
the National Medicare Education campaign and given that beneficiaries
in only five pilot states received the Medicare & You Handbook and have
access to 1-800 Medicare, without an expedited clearance, we would be
unable to make quick changes to the medicare.gov web site to ensure
that it is meeting the information needs of beneficiaries and those
acting on their behalf in the non-pilot states. In addition, we need to
quickly learn whether the World Wide Web is an effective method for
delivering information to Medicare beneficiaries. The Internet site is
one of three methods mandated by the 1997 BBA for disseminating
information in the National Medicare Education campaign; therefore,
receiving feedback in the most expedient way is critical not only from
beneficiaries but our agents, partners, regional offices and
congressional offices as well. In the first four days of operation the
bounceback form for the Medicare & You Handbook page on the Internet
elicited more than 800 responses. This type and level of immediate
feedback are critical to gauge reaction to the national information
strategy. With such quick feedback, we can revise and revamp the web
site accordingly. If the web site is not providing information in a
format that is easy to understand and use, this could result in harm to
Medicare beneficiaries, especially if they cannot find or understand
critical information. Thus, we need a quick turnaround from users of
the site through expedited clearance.
The Office of Public Health and Science's Office of Women's Health
first received funding for the establishment of the National Women's
Health Information Center (NWHIC) through the Senate Appropriations
Committee report accompanying the FY'96 Labor-DHHS-Education spending
bill. Funding for the NWHIC has continued without interruption since
then, showing the ongoing commitment to the NWHIC. The web site
4woman.gov is an important part of the NWHIC. With the recent
announcement of the 4woman.gov web site by the Surgeon General, women
and others now have a major resource for finding information concerning
women's health issues, including research findings on diseases and the
latest legislation to improve women's health. An expedited clearance
for setting up a bounceback form for this web site will provide
information on the utility of the information provided to women,
researchers and providers. Solicitation of rapid feedback from users of
the 4woman.gov web site will guide pending development of which issues
women and their providers find beneficial. Healthfinder.gov is the
world wide web extension of the National Health Information Center
(NHIC), which was mandated by Congress in 1976 as part of the National
Consumer Health Information and Health Promotion Act (Pub.L. 94-317),
and has been in continuous operation since then. As a national referral
source and a site that responds to information requests, the developers
of healthfinder.gov need to know how valuable those referrals are to be
certain of doing no harm and keeping the content topical. For
healthfinder.gov, a heavily-used web site that produces reliable health
information for the consumer, feedback from the users of the web site
will be used to enhance and update the web site quickly to best serve
the needs of the users. The most recent expansion to the
healthfinder.gov web site was in April 1998 and to ensure that the site
is meeting the needs of its users, it is critical to solicit feedback
from users prior to upcoming changes and enhancements of the web site
scheduled in 1999.
HCFA is requesting OMB review and approval of this collection
within eleven working days, with a 180-day approval period. They will
accept written comments and recommendations from the public if received
by the individual designated below, within ten working days of
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
During this 180-day period, HCFA will pursue OMB clearance of this
collection as stipulated by 5 CFR.1320.
Type of Information Collection Request: New Collection.
Title of Information Collection: Collection of Assessment
Information on Three Federal Government Web Sites: www.medicare.gov,
www.4woman.gov, and www.healthfinder.gov.
Form Nos.: HCFA-R-268.
Use: The purpose of the bounceback forms is to provide feedback to
the government agencies that provide the web sites. The information
collected through the bounceback forms will be used with other
information collected about the web sites through focus groups,
interviews, and expert evaluations. The combined information will guide
future improvements to the web sites. Currently, there is no plan to
distribute the information, other than through public health, medical,
or other professional journals, in which we may report the results.
Frequency: Users will have the opportunity to complete the
bounceback form whenever they exit the web site.
Affected Public: Individuals or households, Medicare beneficiaries,
family members of beneficiaries, health professionals or providers,
researchers, employees of an insurer, HMO or Managed Care organization,
and Federal Government.
Number of Respondents: 212,185;
Total Annual Responses: 212,185 in first year, 636,55 after that;
Total Annual Hours: 21,221;
To obtain copies of the supporting statement and any related forms
for the proposed paperwork collections referenced above, access HCFA's
Web Site address at http://www.hcfa.gov/regs/prdact95.htm, or E-mail
your request, including your address, phone number, OMB number, and
HCFA document identifier, to P[email protected], or call the Reports
Clearance Office on (410) 786-1326.
They invite interested persons to send comments regarding the
burden or any other aspect of these collections of information
requirements. However, as noted above, they must mail comments on this
information collection and record keeping requirements and/or faxed to
the designee referenced below, within ten working days of publication
of this collection in the Federal Register:
[[Page 69637]]
Health Care Financing Administration, Office of Information Services,
Security and Standards Group, Division of HCFA Enterprise Standards,
Room N2-14-26, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850. Fax
Number: (410) 786-0262, Attn: Louis Blank HCFA-R-268
and,
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget, Room 10235, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC
20503, Fax Number: (202) 395-6974 or (202) 395-5167, Attn: Allison
Herron Eydt, HCFA Desk Officer.
Dated: December 7, 1998.
John P. Burke III,
HCFA Reports Clearance Officer, HCFA, Office of Information Services
Security and Standards Group, Division of HCFA Enterprise Standards.
[FR Doc. 98-33422 Filed 12-16-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-03-P