[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 5, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 485-487]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-130]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control And Prevention
[INFO-00-16]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    In compliance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) is providing opportunity for public comment on 
proposed data collection projects. To request more information on the 
proposed projects or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and 
instruments, call the CDC Reports Clearance Officer on (404) 639-7090.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including

[[Page 486]]

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 the use of 
automated collection techniques for other forms of information 
technology. Send comments to Seleda Perryman, CDC Assistant Reports 
Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D24, Atlanta, GA 30333. 
Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey--(0920-0278)--
Revision--(NCHS)--The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey 
(NHAMCS) has been conducted annually since 1992 and is directed by the 
Division of Health Care Statistics, National Center for Health 
Statistics, CDC. The purpose of the NHAMCS is to meet the needs and 
demands for statistical information about the provision of ambulatory 
medical care services in the United States. Ambulatory services are 
rendered in a wide variety of settings, including physicians' offices 
and hospital outpatient and emergency departments. The target universe 
of the NHAMCS is in-person visits made in the United States to 
outpatient departments and emergency departments of non-Federal, short-
stay hospitals (hospitals with an average length of stay of less than 
30 days) or those whose specialty is general (medical or surgical) or 
children's general. The NHAMCS was initiated to complement the National 
Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS, OMB No. 0920-0234) which 
provides similar data concerning patient visits to physicians' offices. 
The NAMCS and NHAMCS are the principal sources of data on approximately 
90 percent of ambulatory care provided in the United States.
    The NHAMCS provides a range of baseline data on the characteristics 
of the users and providers of ambulatory medical care. Data collected 
include patients' demographic characteristics and reason(s) for visit, 
and the physicians' diagnosis(es), diagnostic services, medications, 
and disposition. These data, together with trend data, may be used to 
monitor the effects of change in the health care system, the planning 
of health services, improving medical education, determining health 
care work force needs, and assessing the health status of the 
population.
    Users of NHAMCS data include, but are not limited to, congressional 
offices, Federal agencies such as NIH, state and local governments, 
schools of public health, colleges and universities, private industry, 
nonprofit foundations, professional associations, as well as individual 
practitioners, researchers, administrators, and health planners. Uses 
vary from the inclusion of a few selected statistics in a large 
research effort, to an in-depth analysis of the entire NHAMCS data set 
covering several years.
    The number of respondents for the NHAMCS is based on a sample of 
600 hospitals with an 87 percent participation rate. The total cost to 
respondents is estimated to be $400,000.

[[Page 487]]



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                                                                     Number of     Avg. burden/
                   Respondents                       Number of      responses/     response  (in     Response
                                                    respondents     respondent         hrs.)      burden  (hrs.)
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Hospitals: Induction forms......................             520               6               1           3,120
Emergency Departments: Induction forms..........             425               1               1             425
Patient Record forms............................             425             100            4/60           2,833
Outpatient Departments: Induction forms.........             400               3               1           1,200
Patient Record forms............................             400             150            4/60           4,000
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................                                                          11,578
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    Dated: December 29, 1999.
Kathy Cahill,
Associate Director for Policy, Planning, and Evaluation, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 00-130 Filed 1-4-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P