[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 152 (Monday, August 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 48172]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-20000]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Comment Request

    In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects (section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 
Title 44, United States Code, as amended by the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13), the Health Resources and Services 
Administration (HRSA) publishes periodic summaries of proposed projects 
being developed for submission to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. To request more 
information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data 
collection plans and draft instruments, e-mail [email protected] or 
call the HRSA Reports Clearance Officer at (301) 443-1129.
    Comments are invited on: (a) The proposed collection of information 
for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency; (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.

Proposed Project: National Sample Survey of Nurse Practitioners (OMB 
No. 0915-xxxx)-[NEW]

    The number of Nurse Practitioners (NP) in the United States has 
been growing rapidly over the past decade and continued growth is 
expected as the annual number of graduates of NP programs is at an all 
time high. Furthermore, over the past 20 years, many regulatory and 
financial barriers to using NPs have been removed. The expansion of 
health insurance under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 
of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-148) will also increase the demand for services. 
With increasing numbers, NPs are poised to play a critical role in the 
nation's efforts to expand access to health care services.
    Despite the increasing number and role of NPs, unfortunately, there 
is currently only limited, inconsistent data available to policy makers 
and the health care community. Accordingly, it is difficult for these 
leaders to quantify or fully understand the role of NPs in the current 
or future health care system. In fact, it is difficult to project with 
confidence the number of NPs practicing in the United States today.
    The primary purpose of the Bureau of Health Professions' National 
Sample Survey of Nurse Practitioners data collection is to: (1) Improve 
estimates of NPs providing services; (2) describe the settings where 
NPs are working; (3) identify the positions/roles in which NPs are 
working; (4) describe the activities and services NPs are providing in 
the healthcare workforce; (5) determine the specialties in which NPs 
are working; (6) explore NPs' satisfaction with and perception of the 
extent to which they are working to their full scope of practice; and 
(7) assess variations in practice settings, positions, and practice 
patterns by demographic and educational characteristics.
    The statutory provision that authorizes this data collection is 
section 761 of the Public Health Service Act, ``Health Professions 
Workforce Information and Analysis,'' which is codified at 42 U.S.C. 
294n. The information obtained from this survey will ultimately lead to 
more accurate and complete national estimates of the current NP supply, 
as well as assist in the development of more accurate supply and demand 
projections for NPs. This, in turn, is likely to influence decisions 
regarding both the educational capacity and the number of NP programs 
at the national level.
    The annual estimate of burden is as follows:

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                                     Number of     Responses per       Total         Hours per     Total burden
           Instrument               respondents     respondent       responses       response          hours
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National Sample Survey of Nurse           10,000               1          10,000             .33           3,300
 Practitioners..................
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    Total.......................          10,000  ..............          10,000  ..............           3,300
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    E-mail comments to [email protected] or mail the HRSA Reports 
Clearance Officer, Room 10-33, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, 
Rockville, MD 20857. Written comments should be received within 60 days 
of this notice.

    Dated: August 2, 2011.
Reva Harris,
Acting Director, Division of Policy and Information Coordination.
[FR Doc. 2011-20000 Filed 8-5-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P