[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 186 (Thursday, September 25, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55395-55396]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-24277]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-03-123]


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) 498-1210.
    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 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 Nosocomial Infections Surveillance 
(NNIS) System--Extension--National Center for Infectious Disease 
(NCID). The NNIS system, which was instituted in 1970, is an ongoing 
surveillance system currently involving 345 hospitals that voluntarily 
report their nosocomial infections data to the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC), who aggregate the data into a national 
database. The data are collected using surveillance protocols developed 
by CDC for high risk patient groups (ICU, high-risk nursery, and 
surgical patients). Instructional manuals, training of surveillance 
personnel, and a computer surveillance software are among the support 
that CDC provides without cost to participating hospitals to ensure the 
reporting of accurate and uniform data.
    In the very near future this data collection will be merged with 
two other collections to form the National Healthcare Safety Network 
(NHSN). This network will be a computer-based system. Since this system 
will be phased in over time, CDC will need to continue using the forms 
within this clearance request until the transformation has been 
completed.
    The purpose of the NNIS system is to provide national data on the 
incidence of nosocomial infections and their risk factors, and on 
emerging antibiotic resistance. The data are used to determine the 
magnitude of various nosocomial infection problems and trends in 
infection rates among patient with similar risks. They are used to 
detect changes in the epidemiology of nosocomial infections resulting 
from new medical therapies and changing patient risks. New to the NNIS 
system is the monitoring of antibiotic resistance and antimicrobial use 
in groups of patients to describe the epidemiology of antibiotic 
resistance and to understand the role of antimicrobial therapy to this 
growing problem. The NNIS system can also serve as a sentinel system 
for the detection of nosocomial infection outbreaks in the event of 
national distribution of a contaminated medical product or device.
    The respondent burden is not the same in each hospital since the 
hospitals can select from a wide variety of surveillance options. A 
typical hospital will monitor patients for infections in two ICUs and 
surgical site infections following three surgical operations. The 
respondent burden includes the time and cost to collect data on 
nosocomial infections in patients in these groups and the denominator 
data to characterize risk factors in the patients who are being 
monitored; to enter the data as well as a surveillance plan into the 
surveillance software; to send the data to CDC by electronic 
transmission; and complete a short annual survey and administrative 
forms. The respondent burden is expected to increase since an estimated 
10 hospitals are expected to enroll into the NNIS system each year. 
There is no cost to the respondent.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Average
                                                     Number of       Number of        burden/      Total  burden
                      Year                          respondents     responses/     response  (in    (in hours)
                                                                    respondent        hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2003............................................             345               1             925         319,000
2004............................................             355               1             927         329,000
2005............................................             365               1             929         339,000
                                                 -----------------
    Total.......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............         987,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



[[Page 55396]]

    Dated: September 19, 2003.
Thomas A. Bartenfeld,
Acting Associate Director for Policy, Planning and Evaluation, Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 03-24277 Filed 9-24-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P