[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 174 (Friday, September 8, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53106-53107]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-7522]


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

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Indian Health Service


Request for Public Comment: 30-day Proposed Information 
Collection: Indian Health Service Medical Staff Credentials and 
Privileges File

AGENCY: Indian Health Service, HHS.

ACTION:  Notice.

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

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 (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. As 
required by section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Act, the proposed information 
collection has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review and approval.
    The IHS received no comments in response to the 60-day Federal 
Register notice (71 FR 35921) published on June 22, 2006. The purpose 
of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment to 
be submitted directly to OMB.
    Proposed Collection: Title: 0917-0009, ``Indian Health Service 
Medical Staff Credentials and Privileges Files.'' Type of Information 
Collection Request: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection, 0917-0009, ``Indian Health Service Medical Staff 
Credentials and Privileges Files.'' Form Number: 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 IHS operates health care 
facilities that provide health care services to American Indians and 
Alaska Natives. To provide these service, 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, physicians 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

[[Page 53107]]

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: 
Health care providers requesting medical staff privileges at IHS health 
facilities.
    The table below provides the following: Types of data collection 
instruments, estimated number of respondents, number of responses per 
respondent, annual number of responses, average burden hour per 
response, and total annual burden hour.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Estimated                                        Average
   Data collection instrument        number of     Responses per   Annual number    burden hour    Total annual
                                    respondents     respondent     of  responses   per response    burden hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Application to Medical Staff....             600               1             600            1.00          600.0
Reference Letter................            1800               1            1800            0.33          594.0
Reappointment Request...........             200               1             200            1.00          200.0
Medical Privileges..............             387               1             387            1.00          387.0
Ob-Gyn Privileges...............              25               1              25            1.00           25.0
Surgical Privileges.............              23               1              23            1.00           23.0
Psychiatric Privileges..........              18               1              18            1.00           18.0
Anesthesia Privileges...........              16               1              16            1.00           16.0
Dental Privileges...............             128               1             128            0.33           42.2
Optometric Privileges...........              21               1              21            0.33            6.9
Psychology Privileges...........              23               1              23            0.17            3.9
Audiology Privileges............               6               1               6            0.08            0.48
Podiatric Privileges............               6               1               6            0.08            0.48
Radiology Privileges............               9               1               9            0.33            2.9
Pathology Privileges............               3               1               3            0.33             .99
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................           3,265  ..............  ..............  ..............        1,920.85
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    There are no Capital Costs, Operating Costs and/or Maintenance 
Costs to report.
    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.
    Direct Comments to OMB: Send your written comments and suggestions 
regarding the proposed information collection contained in this notice, 
especially regarding the estimated public burden and associated 
response time, to: Office of Management and Budget, Office of 
Regulatory Affairs, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 
Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Allison Eydt, Desk Officer for IHS.
    For Further Information: Send requests for more information on the 
proposed collection or 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 30 days of the date of this publication.

    Dated: September 1, 2006.
Robert G. McSwain,
Deputy Director, Indian Health Service.
[FR Doc. 06-7522 Filed 9-7-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-16-M