[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 22, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8593-8594]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-3274]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-05-0026)


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 404-371-5976 or 
send comments to Sandi Gambescia, CDC Assistant Reports Clearance 
Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D74, Atlanta, GA 30333 or send an e-mail 
to [email protected].
    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. Written comments should be received 
within 60 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Report of Verified Case of Tuberculosis (RVCT), OMB No. 0920-0026--
Extension--Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National 
Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHSTP). CDC is requesting OMB 
approval for another 3-year extension of the Report of Verified Case of 
Tuberculosis (RVCT) data collection.
    CDC maintains the national TB surveillance system to support CDC's 
goal of eliminating tuberculosis (TB) in the United States. Previous 
modifications to the data collection have improved the ability of CDC 
to monitor important aspects of TB epidemiology in the United States, 
including drug resistance, TB risk factors, HIV coinfection, and 
treatment. The system also enables CDC to monitor the recovery of the 
nation from the recent resurgence of TB and to determine if current TB 
epidemiology supports the renewed national goal of TB elimination. To 
measure progress in achieving this goal, as well as continue to monitor 
TB trends and potential TB outbreaks, identify high risk populations 
for TB, and gauge program performance, CDC is requesting approval to 
extend the use of the RVCT.
    Data are collected by 60 Reporting Areas (50 states, the District 
of Columbia, New York City, Puerto Rico, and 7 jurisdictions in the 
Pacific and Caribbean) using the RVCT. There are no changes to the 
forms previously approved in 2002. An RVCT is completed for each 
reported TB case and contains demographic, clinical, and laboratory 
information.
    A comprehensive software package, the Tuberculosis Information 
Management System (TIMS) is currently used for RVCT data entry and 
electronic transmission of reports to CDC. TIMS provides reports, query 
functions, and export functions to assist in analysis of the data. 
However, electronic transmission of TB case reports to CDC is in a 
transition phase with the development of the web-based National 
Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS) and Public Health 
Information Network (PHIN). Following the transition, many respondents 
will implement a PHIN compatible information system to collect and 
report TB surveillance data via the PHIN Messaging System. The 
remaining respondents will employ the NEDSS base system. These 
respondents will be able to use either the associated TB Program Area 
Module or their own TB surveillance application to collect and report 
RVCT data to CDC.
    CDC publishes an annual report summarizing national TB statistics 
and also periodically conducts special analyses for publication in 
peer-reviewed scientific journals to further describe and interpret 
national TB data. These data assist public health officials and policy 
makers in program planning, evaluation, and resource allocation. 
Reporting Areas also review and analyze their RVCT data to monitor 
local TB trends, evaluate program success, and assist in focusing 
resources to eliminate TB.
    No other Federal agency collects this type of national TB data. In 
addition to providing technical assistance on the use of RVCT, CDC also 
provides Reporting Areas with technical support for the TIMS software. 
In this request, CDC is requesting approval for approximately 7,560 
burden hours, an estimated decrease of 778 hours. This decrease is due 
to a decrease in the total number of tuberculosis cases. There is no 
cost to respondents except for their time.

                                             Annualized Burden Table
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                                                                Number of      Average burden
               Respondents                    Number of       responses per     per response      Total burden
                                             respondents       respondents       (in hours)        (in hours)
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Local, state, territorial health                       60               252             30/60             7,560
 departments............................
                                         -------------------
    Total...............................  ................  ................  ................            7,560
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[[Page 8594]]

    Dated: February 15, 2005.
Betsey Dunaway,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Science Officer, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 05-3274 Filed 2-18-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P