[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 21 (Thursday, January 31, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4720-4722]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-2297]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Comment Request

    In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects (section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 
Title 44, United States Code, as amended by the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13), the Health Resources and Services 
Administration (HRSA) publishes periodic summaries of proposed projects 
being developed for submission to the Office of Management and Budget 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. To request more information 
on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection 
plans and draft instruments, call the HRSA Reports Clearance Officer on 
(301) 443-1129.
    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 the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.

Proposed Project: National Practitioner Data Bank for Adverse 
Information on Physicians and Other Health Care Practitioners: 
Regulations and Forms (OMB No. 0915-0126)--Revision

    The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) was established through 
Title IV of Public Law 99-660, the Health Care Quality Improvement Act 
of 1986, as amended. Final regulations governing the NPDB are codified 
at 45 CFR part 60. Responsibility for NPDB implementation and operation 
resides in the Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and 
Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 
(DHHS). The NPDB began operation on September 1, 1990.
    The intent of Title IV of Public Law 99-660 is to improve the 
quality of health care by encouraging hospitals, State licensing 
boards, professional societies, and other entities providing health 
care services, to identify and discipline those who engage in 
unprofessional behavior; and to restrict the ability of incompetent 
physicians, dentists, and other health care practitioners to move from 
State to State

[[Page 4721]]

without disclosure of practitioner previous damaging or incompetent 
performance.
    The NPDB acts primarily as a flagging system; its principal purpose 
is to facilitate comprehensive review of practitioners' professional 
credentials and background. Information on medical malpractice 
payments, adverse licensure actions adverse clinical privileging 
actions, adverse professional society actions, and Medicare/Medicaid 
exclusions is collected from, and disseminated to, eligible entities. 
It is intended that NPDB information should be considered with other 
relevant information in evaluating a practitioner's credentials.
    This request is for a revision of reporting and querying forms 
previously approved on April 30, 1999. The reporting forms and the 
request for information forms (query forms) must be accessed, 
completed, and submitted to the NPDB electronically through the NPDB 
website at www.npdb-hipdb.com. All reporting and querying is performed 
through this secure website.
    This request also includes changes to the NPDB forms as a result of 
the potential implementation of section 1921 of the Social Security Act 
(section 1921), which is now being considered. Section 1921 expands the 
scope of the NPDB by permitting additional entities such as agencies 
administering Federal health care programs, State Medicaid fraud 
control units, utilization and quality control peer review 
organizations, and certain law enforcement officials to query the NPDB 
for adverse licensure actions and other negative actions or findings on 
health care practitioners and entities licensed or otherwise authorized 
by a State (or a political subdivision) to provide health care 
services. Therefore, beginning with section 60.9, sections have been 
renumbered based on the possible implementation of section 1921. 
Additionally, due to overlap in requirements for the Healthcare 
Integrity and Protection Data Bank (HIPDB), some of the NPDB's burden 
has been subsumed under the HIPDB.
    Estimates of burden are as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Hours per
               Regulation citation                   Number of     Responses per     response      Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent       (minutes)         hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Reports
60.6(a)  Errors & Omissions.....................             450            4.22              15             475
60.6(b)  Revisions to Actions...................             110            1.45              30              80
60.7(b)  Medical Malpractice Payment Reports....             660           28.03              45          13,875
60.8(b)  Adverse Action Reports--Licensure                 \1\ 0            0                  0               0
 Actions by Boards of Medical Examiners.........
60.9(b)  Adverse Action Reports--Licensure                 \2\ 0            0                  0               0
 Actions: Submission by State Licensing Boards
 Reporting by State Licensing Authorities.......
60.10  Adverse Action Reports--Negative Actions               58            8.62              45             375
 or Findings: Submission by Peer Review
 Organization/Accreditation Entity..............
Reporting by State Licensing Authorities........              50           10                 15             125
60.11(a)  Adverse Action Reports--Clinical                 1,000            1.2               45             900
 Privileges & Professional Society..............
60.11(c)  Requests for Hearings by Entities.....               1            1                480               8
    Access to Data (Queries and Self Queries)
60.12(a)(1)  Queries by Hospital-Practitioner              6,000           40                  5          20,000
 Applications...................................
60.12(a)(2)  Queries by Hospitals--Two Yr. Cycle           6,000          160                  5          80,000
60.13(a)(1)(i)  Disclosures to Hospitals........           \3\ 0            0                  0               0
60.13(a)(1)(ii)  Disclosure to Practitioners               \4\ 0            0                  0               0
 (Self Queries).................................
60.13(a)(1)(iii)  Queries by Practitioner                    125          120                  5           1,250
 Licensure Boards...............................
60.13(a)(1)(iv)  Queries by Non-Hospital Health            4,000          550                  5         183,333
 Care Entities..................................
60.13(a)(1)(v)  Queries by Plaintiffs' Attorneys               5            1                 30               3
60.13(a)(1)(vi)  Queries by Non-Hospital Health            \5\ 0            0                  0               0
 Care Entities-Peer Review......................
60.13(a)(1)(vii)  Requests by Researchers for                100            1                 30              50
 Aggregate Data.................................
60.13(a)(2)(i) through (vi)  Queries by section          \6\ 425          276.47               5           9,792
 1921--only Eligible Entities...................
60.13(a)(2)(vii)  Queries by Hospitals and other           \7\ 0            0                  0               0
 Health Care Entities...........................
60.13(a)(2)(viii)  Self Queries by Health Care             \8\ 0            0                  0               0
 Practitioners and Entities.....................
60.13(a)(2)(ix)  Requests by Researchers for               \9\ 0            0                  0               0
 Aggregate Data.................................
      Disputed Reports/Secretarial Reviews
60.16(b)  Practitioner Places a Report in                  1,050            1                 15             263
 Disputed Status................................
60.16(b)  Practitioner Requests for Secretarial              115            1                480             920
 Review.........................................
60.16(b)  Practitioner Statement................           2,400            1                 60           2,400
             Access and Admin. Forms
60.3  Entity Registration--Initial..............           2,000            1                 60           2,000
60.3  Entity Registration-Update................           1,225            1                  5             102
60.13(a)  Authorized Agent Designation--Initial.             500            1                 15             125
60.13(a)  Authorized Agent Designation--Update..              50            1                  5               4
60.14(c)  Account Discrepancy Report............             300            1                 15              75
60.14(c)  Electronic Transfer of Funds                       400            1                 15             100
 Authorization..................................
60.3  Entity Registration-- Reactivation........             100            1                 60             100
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............         316,355
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Included in estimate for reporting of adverse licensure actions to the HIPDB in 45 CFR part 61.
\2\ Included in estimate for reporting of adverse licensure actions to the HIPDB in 45 CFR part 61.
\3\ Included in estimate for 60.12(a)(1).
\4\ Included in estimate for self queries in the HIPDB in 45 CFR part 61.
\5\ Included in estimate for non-hospital health care entity queries under Sec.  60.13(a)(1).
\6\ Estimate for queries of section 1921 information by boards that license health care practitioners is
  included in estimate for practitioner licensure boards under Sec.  60.13(a)(1).

[[Page 4722]]

 
\7\ Estimate for queries of section 1921 information by hospitals and other health care entities is included in
  estimates for queries by hospitals under 60.12(a)(1) and non-hospital health care entities under
  60.13(a)(1)(iv).
\8\ Estimate for self queries by health care practitioners and health care entities is included in estimate for
  self queries in the HIPDB in 45 CFR part 61.
\9\ Included in estimate for 60.13(a)(1)(vii).

    Send comments to Susan Queen, Ph.D., HRSA Reports Clearance 
Officer, Room 11-05, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852, (301) 443-1129. Written comments should be received 
within 60 days of this notice.

    Dated: January 24, 2002.
James J. Corrigan,
Associate Administrator for Operations and Management.
[FR Doc. 02-2297 Filed 1-30-02; 8:45 am]
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