[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 10, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27262-27263]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-7077]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[30Day-06-0423X]


Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes a 
list of information collection requests under review by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of these requests, call 
the CDC Reports Clearance Officer at (404) 371-5960 or send an e-mail 
to [email protected]. Send written comments to CDC Desk Officer, Office of 
Management and Budget, Washington, DC or by fax to (202) 395-6974. 
Written comments should be received within 30 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    The National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS)--New--
National Center for Public Health Informatics (NCPHI), Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    CDC is responsible for the collection and dissemination of 
nationally notifiable diseases information and for monitoring and 
reporting the impact of epidemic influenza on mortality, Public Health 
Services Act (42 U.S.C. 241). Since April 1984, CDC Epidemiology 
Program Office (EPO) has been working with the Council of State and 
Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) to demonstrate the efficiency and 
effectiveness of computer transmission of surveillance data between CDC 
and the state health departments.
    By 1989, all 50 states were using this computerized disease 
surveillance system, which was then renamed the National Electronic 
Telecommunications System for Surveillance (NETSS) to reflect its 
national scope (OMB numbers 0920-0447 and 0920-0007).
    Beginning in 1999, CDC, Epidemiology Program Office (EPO) worked 
with CSTE, state and local public health system staff, and other CDC 
disease prevention and control program staff to identify information 
categories and information technology standards to support integrated 
disease surveillance. That effort is now focused on development and 
completion of the National Electronic Disease Surveillance System 
(NEDSS), coordinated by CDC's National Center for Public Health 
Informatics, Division of Integrated Surveillance Systems and Services 
(DISSS).
    States will continue to use portions of NETSS to transmit data to 
CDC. One of the reasons for providing NETSS to NEDSS data mapping is to 
identify what data elements in NETSS correspond to data elements in 
NEDSS. Those elements mapped from NETSS to NEDSS were collected in OMB 
number 0920-0007.
    NEDSS will electronically integrate and link together a wide 
variety of surveillance activities and will facilitate more accurate 
and timely reporting of disease information to CDC and state and local 
health departments. Consistent with recommendations supported by our 
state and local surveillance partners and described in the 1995 report, 
Integrating Public Health Information and Surveillance Systems, NEDSS 
will include data standards, an internet based communications 
infrastructure built on industry standards, and policy-level agreements 
on data access, sharing, burden reduction, and protection of 
confidentiality.
    To support NEDSS, CDC is developing an information system, the 
NEDSS Base System, which will use NEDSS technical and information 
standards (http://www.cdc.gov/nedss/BaseSystem/NEDSSBaseSysDescription.pdf). Currently 11 states participate in NEDSS. 
It is expected that 4 additional states will be added by the end of the 
first year after OMB approval. Thereafter, it is estimated that 5 
states

[[Page 27263]]

will be added in years 2 and 3, depending on funding.
    CDC is requesting a three-year OMB clearance of collecting the 
NEDSS data that is not currently covered by existing clearances. There 
are no costs to respondents other than their time. The average total 
annualized burden for the Weekly Morbidity Reports and the Annual 
Summary Report is 660 hours.

                              Annualized Weekly Morbidity Report Respondent Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                               Number of      Average burden per
                 Type of respondent                        Number of         responses per       response  (in
                                                          respondents         respondents           hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
States..............................................                 20                  52               30/60
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                               Annualized Annual Summary Report Respondent Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                               Number of      Average burden per
                 Type of respondent                        Number of         responses per       response  (in
                                                          respondents         respondents           hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
States..............................................                 20                   1                   7
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    Dated: April 28, 2006.
Joan F. Karr,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. E6-7077 Filed 5-9-06; 8:45 am]
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