[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 3, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 26591]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-10308]


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OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY


Draft Report on Strengthening the Medicolegal Death Investigation 
System: Improving Data Systems

ACTION: Notice of request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The nation's approximately 2,400 medical examiner and coroner 
(ME/C) jurisdictions investigate nearly 500,000 deaths each year and 
perform post-mortem examinations and/or autopsies to determine the 
cause of death. While the function and organization of these offices 
vary by state, medical examiners and coroners typically investigate 
deaths that are sudden and unexpected, deaths that have no attending 
physician, and all suspicious and violent deaths. Strengthening the ME/
C system is critical for improving the accuracy and reliability of 
these death investigations and will benefit public health and safety 
programs, law enforcement investigations, and the development of 
interventions to prevent deaths nationwide.
    The National Science and Technology Council's Fast Track Action 
Committee on Strengthening the Medicolegal Death Investigation System 
was chartered in July 2015 to make strategic policy recommendations at 
the Federal level on how to address issues related to accessing and 
working with data generated by ME/C offices. Importantly, these policy 
recommendations will not only strengthen medicolegal death 
investigations, but would also enhance public health and the integrity 
of the criminal justice system, and further public health and medical 
research. The Committee is seeking input on a series of specific 
questions, as well as general feedback on the content of the report.

DATES: Responses must be received by May 27, 2016 to be considered.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Web form: https://www.whitehouse.gov/webform/Medicolegal-Death-Investigation-System-Public-Comment
     Fax: (202) 456-6027, Attn: Eleanor Celeste.
     Mail: Attn: Eleanor Celeste, Office of Science and 
Technology Policy, Eisenhower Executive Office Building, 1650 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20504.
    Instructions: Response to this Request for Public Comment is 
voluntary. Responses exceeding 1,000 words will not be considered. 
Please reference page numbers in your response, as appropriate. 
Submission via web form is preferred. Responses to this Request for 
Public Comment may be posted online without change online. The Office 
of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) therefore requests that no 
business proprietary information, copyrighted information, or 
personally identifiable information be submitted in response to this 
request. Please note that the U.S. Government will not pay for response 
preparation, or for the use of any information contained in the 
response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eleanor Celeste, (202) 456-4444, 
[email protected], OSTP.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 2009 National Research Council report 
``Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward'' 
described the current Medicolegal Death Investigation System (MDIS) as 
fragmented, inconsistent, and of insufficient quality for the needs of 
health, consumer safety, and law enforcement officials. The report 
identified a number of specific problems with the current system.
    Many Federal agencies rely on the data generated by the MDIS to 
further their missions, and therefore share an interest in ensuring 
that these data are accurate, reliable, and readily accessible. In 
2015, OSTP established under the National Science and Technology 
Council a Fast-Track Action Committee on Strengthening the Medicolegal 
Death Investigation System (FTAC-SMDIS) to identify and recommend 
strategic policy measures that can be implemented by Federal agencies 
in coordination with State and local agencies to improve the quality, 
uniformity, and availability of MDIS data in order to maximize the 
utility of these data for Federal purposes.
    More than 12 Federal departments, agencies, and components of the 
Executive Office of the President comprised the FTAC-SMDIS. Together 
the group identified current uses of MDIS data by Federal agencies, 
existing barriers to accessing and working with these data, data 
quality issues, and opportunities for addressing those challenges. The 
group developed a report detailing specific recommendations on actions 
the Federal government as well as State, local, and Tribal entities can 
take on priority issues to improve data systems for the MDIS. SMDIS-
FTAC now is seeking public comment on this report (available at: 
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/NSTC/strengthening_the_medicolegal_death_investigation_system_draft_for_public_comment_4_21.pdf) in advance of finalizing the document for 
publication. The Committee is seeking specific input on the following 
questions, as well as general feedback on the content of the report.
     Are there scientific and technical issues surrounding data 
quality and access within the MDI System that the FTAC should be aware 
of and include in its report?
     Are there additional recommendations to improve data 
systems that would be impactful to the MDI System, based on the 
scientific and technical literature?

Ted Wackler,
Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant Director.
[FR Doc. 2016-10308 Filed 5-2-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3270-F6-P