[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 250 (Wednesday, December 31, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75568-75569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-32164]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60 Day-04-18]


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 Anne O'Connor, CDC 
Assistant Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-E11, 
Atlanta, GA 30333. Written comments should be received within 60 days 
of this notice.
    Proposed Project: National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) 
2005-2006 (OMB No. 0920-0234)--Extension--National Center for Health 
Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
    The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) was conducted 
annually from 1973 to 1981, again in 1985, and resumed as an annual 
survey in 1989. The survey is directed by CDC, National Center for 
Health Statistics, Division of Health Care Statistics. The purpose of 
NAMCS is to meet the needs and demands for statistical information 
about the provision of ambulatory

[[Page 75569]]

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 NAMCS target 
population consists of all office visits made by ambulatory patients to 
non-Federal office-based physicians (excluding those in the specialties 
of anesthesiology, radiology, and pathology) who are engaged in direct 
patient care. To complement these data, NCHS initiated the National 
Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS, OMB No. 0920-0278) to 
provide data concerning patient visits to hospital outpatient and 
emergency departments.
    The NAMCS provides a range of baseline data on the characteristics 
of the users and providers of ambulatory medical care. Data collected 
include the patients' demographic characteristics, reason(s) for visit, 
physicians' diagnosis, diagnostic services, medications and visit 
disposition. In addition to the annual statistics normally collected, a 
key focus of the 2005-2006 survey will be on the prevention and 
treatment of selected chronic conditions. These data, together with 
trend data, may be used to monitor the effects of change in the health 
care system, provide new insights into ambulatory medical care, and 
stimulate further research on the use, organization, and delivery of 
ambulatory care.
    Users of NAMCS data include, but are not limited to, congressional 
and other federal government agencies, state and local governments, 
medical schools, schools of public health, researchers, administrators, 
and health planners. NAMCS plans to extend its data collection into 
2005 and 2006. To calculate the burden hours the number of respondents 
for NAMCS is based on a sample of 3,000 physicians with a 50 percent 
participation rate (this includes physicians who are out-of-scope as 
well as those who refuse). There is no cost to respondents.

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                                                                     Number of    Average burden/
                   Respondents                       Number of      responses/     response (in    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent         hrs)            hours
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Office-based physicians:
    Induction Form..............................           1,500               1           25/60             625
    Patient Record Form.........................           1,500              30            5/60           3,750
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
        Total...................................  ..............  ..............  ..............           4,375
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    Dated: December 19, 2003.
Ron Ergle,
Acting Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 03-32164 Filed 12-30-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P