[Federal Register: December 2, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 231)]
[Notices]
[Page 71579-71580]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02de02-102]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 concerning opportunity for public comment on proposed
collections of information, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration will publish periodic summaries of proposed
projects. To request more information on the proposed projects or to
obtain a copy of the information collection plans, call the SAMHSA
Reports Clearance Officer on (301) 443-7978.
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collections of
information are 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: National Treatment Outcomes Monitoring System
(NTOMS)--New--NTOMS is an extension and expansion of two pilot projects
funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the Drug
Evaluation Network System (DENS) and Random Access Monitoring of
Narcotics Addicts (RAMONA). NTOMS will be a surveillance system that
will provide periodic reporting on access to and effectiveness of drug
abuse treatment using a nationally representative sample of patients
receiving treatment for psychoactive substance dependence in a sample
of specialty treatment providers throughout the United States. NTOMS
will collect information from and about clients, and limited
information about treatment facilities. A sample of 250 facilities and
84,000 clients is planned. The clients will be sampled over a period of
four years. NTOMS will permit SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse
Treatment (CSAT) to enhance its ability to carry out statutory
responsibilities to determine the quality and appropriateness of
treatment, as required by Sections 507(b)(13) and (14) of the Public
Health Service Act [42 U.S.C. 290bb].
Specialized substance abuse treatment facilities will be sampled as
clusters of service delivery units (SDU's). Facilities will be asked to
complete a single instrument, the Addiction Treatment Inventory once
per year to track changes in facility treatment programs and
activities. Some facilities will thus complete this instrument four
times; those that are recruited late in the beginning stages of the
system will complete it less often. Replacements for dropouts and
closures, or for the purpose of adjusting the facility sample to
changes in the facility population, will also have fewer
administrations.
Upon admission, a baseline battery consisting of several different
instruments will be administered to a sample of clients. The principal
questionnaire will include the content of the Addiction Severity Index,
an intake assessment instrument already widely used at treatment
facilities. This content will impose no marginal burden on clients
beyond the normal intake process. However, the Addiction Severity Index
will be supplemented by additional items that are required for CSAT to
meet its obligations under the Government Performance Results Act of
1993 (GPRA) (31 U.S.C. 101) and by items concerning entering patients
collected at publicly-funded treatment facilities as part of the
Treatment Episode Data Set, a component of the Drug and Alcohol
Services Information System. At admission, three other questionnaires
will be administered. The Life History Interview (LHI) will obtain
information about patterns of substance use over the past five years.
The Waiting List Module will ask about access to treatment and how long
entering patients have waited for admission since seeking treatment.
The Locator/Tracking Form will request information needed to find
clients six months after discharge to determine the outcome of their
treatment. Clients will also be asked to read and sign a consent form
for participation in subsequent stages of the study.
During treatment, sampled clients who are still in treatment will
be contacted periodically by telephone and asked the questions in the
Treatment Services Review, an extant instrument used to determine the
treatment services and activities actually delivered to clients. This
instrument will be administered periodically. Therefore, clients who
spend more than 30 days in treatment will be asked to complete it more
than once. Because of high initial drop-out rates, it is estimated that
only 60 percent of clients will be asked to complete at least one
Treatment Services Review.
Selected items from the expanded ASI will be administered to a
sample of the original clients again shortly after they leave treatment
and the sampled clients will be asked to confirm or update the locating
information. Six months after discharge, a sample of 20 percent of the
clients who left treatment will be interviewed in person or by
telephone. The expanded ASI will be administered for a third time, and
the LHI for a second time. Approximately one-third of this sample of
clients, all interviewed in person, will also be asked to provide a
urine sample for analysis.
To obtain a response rate at both the institutional and client
levels that will support estimates in larger populations, CSAT plans to
offer incentives for participation in NTOMS to both facilities and
clients. Estimated annual burden for NTOMS is shown below:
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Total
Type of respondent and activity Number of Responses/ Hours/ burden
respondents respondent response hours
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Treatment Facilities
Addiction Treatment Inventory............................... 250 1 0.33 83
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Facility Subtotal....................................... 250 ........... ........... 83
Clients
Instruments administered at admission or during treatment:
Expanded ASI at admission \1\........................... 21,000 1 0.17 3,500
LHI at admission........................................ 21,000 1 0.50 10,500
[[Page 71580]]
Waiting List questionnaire.............................. 21,000 1 0.08 1,750
Treatment Services Review............................... 12,600 \2\ 1.6 0.75 15,120
Instrument administered at discharge: Reduced ASI........... 5,250 1 0.50 2,625
Instruments administered six months after discharge:
Follow-up interview..................................... 1,975 1 0.50 988
Follow-up LHI........................................... 1,975 1 0.25 494
Provision of urine sample............................... 670 1 0.08 56
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Client subtotal..................................... 21,000 ........... ........... 35,033
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Total........................................... 21,250 ........... ........... 35,116
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\1\ Time burden includes only marginal time required to administer NTOMS-specific items not normally included in
the ASI when it is used as an intake instrument--GPRA items, TEDS minimum data set, locating information--and
securing consent from patients.
\2\ Assumes that TSR is administered once to 60% of admission sample, twice to 18%, three times to 13%, four
times to 6%.
Send comments to Nancy Pearce, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer,
Room 16-105, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857.
Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.
Dated: November 24, 2002.
Richard Kopanda,
Executive Officer, SAMHSA.
[FR Doc. 02-30384 Filed 11-29-02; 8:45 am]
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