[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 22, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42502-42503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18054]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-18-1102; Docket No. CDC-2018-0049]


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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 Information Collection for 
Tuberculosis Data from Panel Physicians, which collects TB data 
gathered during overseas immigration medical exams.

DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before October 22, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2018-
0049 by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, 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 Jeffery M. Zirger, 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
    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

    Information Collection for Tuberculosis Data from Panel 
Physicians--Revision--National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic 
Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC).

[[Page 42503]]

Background and Brief Description

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC), National 
Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Division 
of Global Migration and Quarantine (DGMQ), Immigrant, Refugee, and 
Migrant Health Branch (IRMH), requests approval for a revision of an 
existing information collection. This project pertains to collecting 
annual reports on certain tuberculosis data from U.S. panel physicians.
    The respondents are panel physicians. More than 760 panel 
physicians from 336 panel sites perform overseas pre-departure medical 
examinations in accordance with requirements, referred to as technical 
instructions, provided by DGMQs Quality Assessment Program (QAP). The 
role of QAP is to assist and guide panel physicians in the 
implementation of the Technical Instructions; evaluate the quality of 
the overseas medical examination for U.S.-bound immigrants and 
refugees; assess potential panel physician sites; and provide 
recommendations to the U.S. Department of State in matters of immigrant 
medical screening.
    To achieve DGMQ's mission, the Immigrant, Refugee and Migrant 
Health branch (IRMH) works with domestic and international programs to 
improve the health of U.S.-bound immigrants and refugees to protect the 
U.S. public by preventing the importation of infectious disease. These 
goals are accomplished through IRMH's oversight of medical exams 
required for all U.S.-bound immigrants and refugees who seek permanent 
residence in the U.S. IRMH is responsible for assisting and training 
the international panel physicians with the implementation of medical 
exam Technical Instructions (TI). Technical Instructions are detailed 
requirements and national policies regarding the medical screening and 
treatment of all U.S.-bound immigrants and refugees.
    Screening for tuberculosis (TB) is a particularly important 
component of the immigration medical exam and allows panel physicians 
to diagnose active TB disease prior to arrival in the United States. As 
part of the Technical Instructions requirements, panel physicians 
perform chest x-rays and laboratory tests that aid in the 
identification of tuberculosis infection (Class B1 applicants) and 
diagnosis of active tuberculosis disease (Class A, inadmissible 
applicants). CDC uses these classifications to report new immigrant and 
refugee arrivals with a higher risk of developing TB disease to U.S. 
state and local health departments for further follow-up. Some 
information that panel physicians collect as part of the medical exam 
is not reported on the standard Department of State forms (DS-forms), 
thereby preventing CDC from evaluating TB trends in globally mobile 
populations and monitoring program effectiveness.
    Currently, CDC is requesting this data be sent by panel physicians 
once per year. The consequences of reducing this frequency would be the 
loss of monitoring program impact and TB burdens in mobile populations 
and immigrants and refugees coming to the United States on an annual 
basis. The total hours requested is 1,008. There is no cost to the 
respondents other than their time.
    Estimated annual burden is being reduced by 1,640 hours per year. 
The number of respondents is being reduced by 17. Reductions are due to 
revised estimates on burden time per response, and the removal of four 
variables from the data collection form and improved IT capacity at 
most panel sites.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Number of    Average burden
      Type of respondents           Form name        Number of     responses per   per response    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent      (in hours)      (in hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International panel physicians  TB Indicators                336               1               3           1,008
                                 Excel
                                 Spreadsheet.
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............           1,008
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Acting 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. 2018-18054 Filed 8-21-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4163-18-P