Nov 29 -- The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services, invites comments to OMB by December 29, 2023 regarding the request to extend the collection of Evidence-Based Telehealth Network Program Measures.
The Office for the Advancement of Telehealth's (OAT) administers the Evidence Based Telehealth Network Program, the purpose of which is to fund evidence-based projects that utilize telehealth technologies through telehealth networks to expand access to, and improve access to and the quality of, health care services. This program will work to help assess the effectiveness of evidence-based practices with the use of telehealth for patients, providers, and payers.
In the Evidence-Based Telehealth Network Program Report, the adjusted data collection instrument includes the addition, removal, and revision of measures, with 27 total data elements addressing patient encounter information. The current measures focus on behavioral health and the proposed adjusted measures allow for the inclusion of broader health care services and expanded outcome measures. Five data elements were updated to specify data collection that allows for deeper understanding of outcomes related to socioeconomic indicators. The estimated burden for the Evidence-Based Telehealth Network Program
Report has decreased since the data collection frequency is changing from monthly to quarterly. In addition, the information collected from grantees in the Performance Improvement and Measurement System more closely aligns measures with the Notice of Funding Opportunity and will assist in clarifying program measures and impact. These adjustments allow OAT to gain a more thorough understanding of how to utilize telehealth technologies through telehealth to improve access to, and improve the quality of, health care services.
A 60-day notice published in the Federal Register on August 18, 2023, 88 FR 56640–41. There were no public comments, but OAT made minor adjustments to the numbering, wording, and some categories on the Rural Telehealth Research Center Data Dictionary and accompanying Direct-to-Consumer Telehealth Evidence Collection tool to increase ease of use.
The measures will enable HRSA and OAT to capture data that illustrate the impact and scope of federal funding along with assessing these efforts. The measures cover the principal topic areas of interest to OAT, including: (1) population demographics, (2) access to health care, (3) cost savings and cost-effectiveness, and (4) clinical outcomes.
OAT:
https://www.hrsa.gov/telehealth
HRSA submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202311-0906-001 Click on IC List for data collection instrument, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation. Submit comments through this site.
FR notice inviting public comment:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-26248
For AEA members wishing to submit comments, "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" is available at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806