[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 181 (Monday, September 19, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64155-64156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-22448]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-16-1015; Docket No. CDC-2016-0091]


Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice with comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part 
of its continuing efforts to reduce public burden and maximize the 
utility of government information, invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or 
continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on the proposed 
revision of the National Electronic Health Records Survey (NEHRS), 
formerly approved as the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey 
(NAMCS) National Electronic Health Records Survey (NEHRS). This three 
year revision request includes an update to the currently approved 
questionnaire, the addition of a follow-up survey, and a survey name 
change deleting the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) 
from the title. The purpose of NEHRS is to meet the needs and demands 
for statistical information about EHR adoption in physician offices in 
the United States.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before November 18, 
2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2016-
0091 by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Leroy A. Richardson, Information Collection Review 
Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road 
NE., MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and Docket Number. All relevant comments received will be posted 
without change to Regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided. For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to Regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan 
and instruments, contact the Information Collection Review Office, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE., MS-
D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone: 404-639-7570; Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(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. In addition, the PRA also requires 
Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register 
concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new 
proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of 
information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information 
collection before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To 
comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a 
proposed data collection as described below.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (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; (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; and (e) estimates of capital or start-
up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services 
to provide information. Burden means the total time, effort, or 
financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, 
disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This 
includes the time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, 
install and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of 
collecting, validating and verifying information, processing and 
maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; to 
train personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of 
information, to search data sources, to complete and review the 
collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the 
information.

Proposed Project

    The National Electronic Health Records Survey (NEHRS) (formerly 
approved as the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) 
National Electronic Health Records Survey (NEHRS)) (OMB No. 0920-1015, 
Expires 04/30/2017)--Revision--National Center for Health Statistics 
(NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Section 306 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. 
242k), as amended, authorizes that the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services (DHHS), acting through NCHS, shall collect statistics on 
``utilization of health care'' in the United States. NEHRS was 
originally designed as a mail supplement to the National Ambulatory 
Medical Care Survey (NAMCS). Questions in NEHRS have been asked in 
NAMCS starting in 2001.
    The purpose of NEHRS is to measure progress toward goals for 
electronic health records (EHRs) adoption. NEHRS target universe 
consists of all non-Federal office-based physicians (excluding those in 
the specialties of anesthesiology, radiology, and pathology) who are 
engaged in direct patient care.
    NEHRS is the principal source of data on national and state-level 
EHR adoption in the United States. In 2008 and 2009, the sample size 
was 2,000 physicians annually. Starting in 2010, the annual sample size 
was increased five-fold, from 2,000 physicians to 10,302 physicians. 
The increased sample size allows for more reliable national estimates 
as well as state-level estimates on EHR adoption without having to be 
combined with NAMCS. For these reasons, in 2012 NEHRS became an 
independent survey, not as a supplement under NAMCS.
    NEHRS collects information on characteristics of physician 
practices, the capabilities of EHRs in those practices, and intent to 
apply for meaningful use incentive payments. These data, together with 
trend data, may be used to monitor the adoption of EHR as well as 
accessing factors associated with EHR adoption.
    Users of NEHRS data include, but are not limited to, Congressional 
offices, Federal agencies, state and local governments, schools of 
public health, colleges and universities, private industry, nonprofit 
foundations, professional associations, clinicians, researchers, 
administrators, and health planners.
    There is no cost to the respondents other than their time.

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                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                     Number of    Average burden
      Type of respondent            Form name        Number of     responses per   per response    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent        (hours)         (hours)
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Office-based physicians.......  NEHRS...........          10,302               1           30/60           5,151
Office-based physicians.......  Follow-up NEHRS.           3,434               1           30/60           1,717
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............           6,868
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Leroy A. Richardson,
Chief, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific 
Integrity, Office of the Associate Director for Science, Office of the 
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2016-22448 Filed 9-16-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4163-18-P