[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 160 (Friday, August 17, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49818-49819]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20205]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2012-N-0873]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Bar Code Label Requirement for Human Drug and 
Biological Products

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing an 
opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain 
information by the Agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(the PRA), Federal Agencies are required to publish notice in the 
Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, 
including each proposed extension of an existing collection of 
information, and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the 
notice. This notice solicits comments on the bar code label 
requirements for human drug and biological products.

DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the collection 
of information by October 16, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit electronic comments on the collection of information 
to http://www.regulations.gov. Submit written comments on the 
collection of information to the Division of Dockets Management (HFA-
305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, 
Rockville, MD 20852. All comments should be identified with the docket 
number found in brackets in the heading of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ila Mizrachi, Office of Information 
Management, Food and Drug Administration, 1350 Piccard Dr., PI50-400B, 
Rockville, MD 20850, 301-796-7726, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal 
Agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. 
``Collection of information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 
1320.3(c) and includes Agency requests or requirements that members of 
the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a 
third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) 
requires Federal Agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal 
Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including 
each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, 
before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with 
this requirement, FDA is publishing notice of the proposed collection 
of information set forth in this document.
    With respect to the following collection of information, FDA 
invites comments on these topics: (1) Whether the proposed collection 
of information is necessary for the proper performance of FDA's 
functions, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of FDA's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques, when 
appropriate, and other forms of information technology.

Bar Code Label Requirement for Human Drug and Biological Products--(OMB 
Control Number 0910-0537)--Extension

    In the Federal Register of February 26, 2004 (69 FR 9120), we 
issued regulations that required human drug product and biological 
product labels to have bar codes. The rule required bar codes on most 
human prescription drug products and on over-the-counter (OTC) drug 
products that are dispensed under an order and commonly used in health 
care facilities. The rule also required machine-readable information on 
blood and blood components. For human prescription drug products and 
OTC drug products that are dispensed under an order and commonly used 
in health care facilities, the bar code must contain the National Drug 
Code number for the product. For blood and blood components, the rule 
specifies the minimum contents of the machine-readable information in a 
format approved by the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research 
Director as blood centers have generally agreed upon the information to 
be encoded on the label. The rule is intended to help reduce the number 
of medication errors in hospitals and other health care settings by 
allowing health care professionals to use bar code scanning equipment 
to verify that the right drug (in the right dose and right route of 
administration) is being given to the right patient at the right time.
    Most of the information collection burden resulting from the final 
rule, as calculated in table 1 of the final rule (69 FR at 9149), was a 
one-time burden that does not occur after the rule's compliance date of 
April 26, 2006. In addition, some of the information collection burden 
estimated in the final rule is now covered in other OMB-approved 
information collection packages for FDA. However, parties may continue 
to seek an exemption from the bar code requirement under certain, 
limited circumstances. Section 201.25(d) (21 CFR 201.25(d)) requires 
submission of a written request for an exemption and describes the 
contents of such requests. Based on the number of exemption requests we 
have received, we estimate that approximately 2 exemption requests may 
be submitted annually, and that each exemption request will require 24 
hours to complete. This would result in an annual reporting burden of 
48 hours.

[[Page 49819]]

    FDA estimates the burden of this collection of information as 
follows:

                                 Table 1--Estimated Annual Reporting Burden \1\
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                                          Number of
  21 CFR section       Number of        responses per       Total annual      Average burden      Total hours
                      respondents         respondent         responses        per  response
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      201.25(d)                  2                  1                  2                 24                 48
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\1\ There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this collection of
  information.


    Dated: August 13, 2012.
Leslie Kux,
Assistant Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2012-20205 Filed 8-16-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-P