[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 120 (Thursday, June 22, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35921-35922]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-5574]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Indian Health Service


Request for Public Comment: 60-Day Proposed Information 
Collection: Indian Health Service Medical Staff Credentials and 
Privileges Files

AGENCY: Indian Health Service, HHS.

SUMMARY: The Indian Health Service (IHS), as part of its continuing 
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre-
clearance consultation program to provide the general public and 
Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or 
continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 continuing collections of information in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA95) (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)). This program helps to ensure that requested data can be 
provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial 
resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, 
and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be 
properly assessed. Currently, the IHS is providing a 60-day advance 
opportunity for public comment on a proposed new collection of 
information to be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for 
review.

Proposed Collection

    Title: 0917-0009, ``Indian Health Service Medical Staff''
    Typed of Information Collection Request: Extension, without 
revision, of currently approved information collection, 0917-0009, 
``Indian Health Service Medical Staff Credentials and Privileges 
Files.''
    Form Numbers(s): None.
    Need and Use of Information Collection: This collection of 
information is used to evaluate individual health care providers 
applying for medical staff privileges at IHS health care facilities. 
The HHS operates health care facilities that provide health care 
services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. To provide these 
services, the IHS employs (directly and under contract) several 
categories of health care providers including: Physicians (M.D. and 
D.O.), dentists, psychologists, optometrists, podiatrists, 
audiologists, physician assistants, certified registered nurse 
anesthetists, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse midwives. The 
IHS policy specifically requires physicians and dentists to be members 
of the health care facility medical staff where they practice. Health 
care providers become medical staff members, depending on the local 
health care facility's capabilities and medical staff bylaws. There are 
three types of IHS medical staff applicants: (1) Health care providers 
applying for direct employment with IHS; (2) contractors who will not 
seek to become IHS employees; and (3) employed IHS health care 
providers who seek to transfer between IHS health care facilities.
    National health care standards developed by the Center for Medicare 
and Medicaid Services (formerly the Health Care Financing 
Administration), the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of 
Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), and other accrediting organizations 
required health care facilities to review, evaluate and verify the 
credentials, training and experience of medical staff applicants prior 
to granting medical staff privileges. To meet these standards, IHS 
health care facilities require all medical staff applicants to provide 
information concerning their education, training, licensure, and work 
experience and any adverse disciplinary actions taken against them. 
This information is then verified with references supplied by the 
applicant and may include: Former employers, educational institutions, 
licensure and certification boards, the American Medical Association, 
the Federation of State Medical Boards, the National Practitioner Data 
Bank, and the applicants themselves.
    In addition to the initial granting of medical staff membership and 
clinical privileges, JCAHO standards require that a review of the 
medical staff be conducted not less than every two years. This review 
evaluates the current competence of the medical staff and verifies 
whether they are maintaining the licensure or certification 
requirements of their specialty.
    The medical staff credentials and privileges records are maintained 
at the health care facility where the health care provider is a medical 
staff member. The establishment of these records at IHS health care 
facilities is not optional; such records must be established and 
maintained at all health care facilities in the United States that are 
accredited by JCAHO. Prior to the establishment of this JCAHO 
requirement, the degree to which medical staff applications were 
verified for completeness and accuracy varied greatly across America.
    Affected Public: Individuals and households.
    Type of Respondents: Individuals.
    Burden Hours: The table below provides the estimated burden hours 
for this information collection:

[[Page 35922]]



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                                     Est. number of   Responses per                                Total annual
          Data collection              respondents     respondent       Burden per  response *      burden hrs.
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Application to Medical Staff.......             600               1  1.00 (60 mins).............          600.0
Reference Letter...................            1800               1  0.33 (20 mins).............          594.0
Reappointment Request..............             200               1  1.00 (60 mins).............          200.0
Ob-Gyn Privileges..................              25               1  1.00 (60 mins).............           25.0
Internal Medicine..................             387               1  1.00 (60 mins).............          387.0
Surgery Privileges.................              23               1  1.00 (60 mins).............           23.0
Psychiatry Privileges..............              18               1  1.00 (60 mins).............           18.0
Anesthesia Privileges..............              16               1  1.00 (60 mins).............           16.0
Dental Privileges..................             128               1  0.33 (20 mins).............           42.2
Optometry Privileges...............              21               1  0.33 (20 mins).............            6.9
Psychology Privileges..............              23               1  0.17 (10 mins).............            3.9
Audiology Privileges...............               6               1  0.08 (5 mins)..............            0.48
Podiatry Privileges................               6               1  0.08 (5 mins)..............            0.48
Radiology Privileges...............               9               1  0.33 (20 mins).............            2.9
Pathology Privileges...............               3               1  0.33 (20 mins).............             .99
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    Total..........................           3,265  ..............  ...........................        1,920.85 
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* For ease of understanding, burden hours are provided in actual minutes.

    There are no capital costs, operating costs and/or maintenance 
costs to respondents.
    Request for Comments: Your written comments and/or suggestions are 
invited on one or more of the following points: (a) Whether the 
information collection activity is necessary to carry out an agency 
function; (b) whether the agency processes the information collected in 
a useful and timely fashion; (c) the accuracy of public burden estimate 
(the estimated amount of time needed for individual respondents to 
provide the requested information); (d) whether the methodology and 
assumptions used to determine the estimate are logical; (e) ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information being 
collected; and (f) ways to minimize the public burden through the use 
of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Send Comments and Requests for Further Information: For the 
proposed collection or requests to obtain a copy of the data collection 
instrument(s) and instructions to: Mrs. Christina Rouleau, IHS Reports 
Clearance Officer, 801 Thompson Avenue, TMP Suite 450, Rockville, MD 
20852, call non-toll free (301) 443-5938, send via facsimile to (301) 
443-2316, or send your e-mail requests, comments, and return address 
to: [email protected].
    Comment Due Date: Your comments regarding this information 
collection are best assured of having their full effect if received 
within 60 days of the date of this publication.

    Dated: June 15, 2006.
Robert G. McSwain,
Deputy Director, Indian Health Service.
[FR Doc. 06-5574 Filed 6-21-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-16-M