[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 237 (Monday, December 10, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63710-63711]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30396]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60 Day-02-14]


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 for opportunity for public comment on 
proposed data collection projects, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed 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 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. Send comments to Anne O'Connor, 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 
(NHAMCS) OMB No. 0920-0278--Revision--National Center for Health 
Statistics, (NCHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 
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 U.S. 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.

[[Page 63711]]

    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 equipment and services, 
medications, and disposition. These data, together with trend data, may 
be used to monitor the effects of change in the health care system, for 
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.
    To calculate the burden hours the number of respondents for the 
NHAMCS is based on an annual sample of approximately 500 hospitals with 
an 94 percent participation rate. The total cost to respondents is 
estimated to be $300,000.

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                                                                     Number of     Avg. burden/      Response
 Respondents (non-Federal general and short-stay     Number of      responses/     response  (in    burden  (in
                   hospitals)                       respondents     respondent         hrs.)           hrs.)
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Induction forms:
    Ineligible hospitals........................              50               1           15/60              13
    Eligible hospitals..........................             440               1               1             440
    Emergency departments.......................             400               1               1             400
    Outpatient departments......................             240               4               1             960
Patient record forms:
    Emergency departments.......................             400             100            5/60           3,333
    Outpatient departments......................             240             200            5/60           4,000
    Pediatric emergency services and equipment..             400               1           30/60             200
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
        Total...................................  ..............  ..............  ..............           9,346
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    Dated: November 30, 2001.
Nancy E. Cheal,
Acting Associate Director for Policy, Planning and Evaluation, Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 01-30396 Filed 12-7-01; 8:45 am]
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