[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 226 (Monday, November 27, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56027-56028]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-25496]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-18-0278; Docket No. CDC-2017-0101]


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 effort to reduce public burden and maximize the 
utility of government information, invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a proposed and/or 
continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on a proposed 
information collection project titled the National Hospital Ambulatory 
Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS). NHAMCS collects facility and visit 
information on ambulatory care services utilization in non-Federal, 
short stay hospitals in the United States.

DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before January 26, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2018-
0101 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. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments 
to Regulations.gov.
    Please note: Submit all comments through the Federal eRulemaking 
portal (regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the address listed above.

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 Leroy A. Richardson, 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 the OMB for approval. To 
comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a 
proposed data collection as described below.
    The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:
    1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and

[[Page 56028]]

    4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submissions of responses.
    5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

    National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) (OMB 
Control Number 0920-0278, Expiration Date 02/28/2018)--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. The National 
Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) has conducted annually 
since 1992. NCHS is seeking OMB approval to extend this survey for an 
additional three years.
    The target universe of the NHAMCS is in-person visits made to 
emergency departments (EDs) of non-Federal, short-stay hospitals 
(hospitals with an average length of stay of less than 30 days) that 
have at least six beds for inpatient use, and with a specialty of 
general (medical or surgical) or children's general.
    NHAMCS was initiated to complement the National Ambulatory Medical 
Care Survey (NAMCS, OMB Control Number 0920-0234, Expiration Date 03/
31/2019), which provides similar data concerning patient visits to 
physicians' offices. NAMCS and NHAMCS are the principal sources of data 
on ambulatory care provided in the United States.
    NHAMCS provides a range of baseline data on the characteristics of 
the users and providers of hospital ambulatory medical care. Data 
collected include patients' demographic characteristics, reason(s) for 
visit, providers' diagnoses, diagnostic services, medications, and 
disposition. These data, together with trend data, may be used to 
monitor the effects of change in the health care system, for the 
planning of health services, improving medical education, determining 
health care work force needs, and assessing the health status of the 
population.
    Starting 2018, CDC will implement the ED component of NHAMCS. 
However, between December 2017 and May 2018, the 2017 survey will run 
concurrently with the 2018 survey. This is typical with any data 
collection cycle: It begin in the last month of the preceding year and 
ends around the middle of the following year. For the 2017 data 
collection, CDC will collect information on all three settings (ED, 
OPD, and ASL). For this three-year request, CDC does not expect 
substantive changes or supplements for the survey.
    Users of NHAMCS 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 are no costs to the respondents other than their time. The 
total estimated annualized burden hours are 1,806.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                     Number of    Average burden
      Type of respondents           Form name        Number of     responses per   per response    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent      (in hours)      (in hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hospital Chief Executive        Hospital                      60               1           75/60              75
 Officer.                        Induction 2017
                                 Data Collection.
Hospital Chief Executive        Hospital                     340               1           75/60             425
 Officer.                        Induction 2018+
                                 Data Collection.
Ancillary Service Executive...  Ambulatory Unit              810               1           15/60             203
                                 Induction (ED,
                                 OPD and ASL).
Ancillary Service Executive...  Ambulatory Unit              583               1           15/60             146
                                 Induction (ED
                                 only).
Medical Record Clerk..........  Retrieving                   396             144            1/60             950
                                 Patient Records
                                 (ED, OPD and
                                 ASL).
Ancillary Service Executive--   Reabstraction                 29               1            5/60               2
 Reabstraction.                  Telephone Call
                                 (ED, OPD and
                                 ASL).
Medical Record Clerk--          Pulling and re-               29              10            1/60               5
 Reabstraction.                  filing Patient
                                 Records (ED,
                                 OPD and ASL).
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............           1,806
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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. 2017-25496 Filed 11-24-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4163-18-P