[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 178 (Thursday, September 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46488-46490]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19901]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-18-0212; Docket No. CDC-2018-0084]


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

[[Page 46489]]

proposed information collection project titled National Hospital Care 
Survey, an electronic data collection that describes hospital care 
utilization in the U.S.

DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before November 13, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2018-
0084 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 Jeffrey 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

    The National Hospital Care Survey (NHCS) (OMB Control Number 0920-
0212; Exp. Date 01/31/2019)--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 the 
extent and nature of illness and disability of the population of the 
United States. This three-year clearance request for NHCS includes the 
collection of all inpatient and ambulatory Uniform Bill-04 (UB-04) 
claims data or electronic health record (EHR) data as well as the 
collection of hospital-level information via a questionnaire from a 
sample of 598 hospitals.
    The NHCS collects data on patient care in hospital-based settings 
to describe patterns of health care delivery and utilization in the 
United States. NHCS hospital-based settings include inpatient, 
emergency (EDs), and outpatient departments (OPDs). The survey will 
provide hospital utilization statistics for the Nation. In addition, 
the NHCS will also be able to monitor national trends in substance use-
related ED visits including opioid visits.
    NHCS consists of a nationally representative sample of 598 
hospitals. These hospitals are currently being recruited, and 
participating hospitals are submitting all of their inpatient and 
ambulatory care patient data in the form of electronic UB-04 
administrative claims or EHR data. Currently, hospital-level data are 
collected through a questionnaire administered via a web portal.
    This revision seeks approval to continue voluntary recruitment of 
hospitals in the sample for the NHCS; continue the collection of 
hospital-level data through an initial intake questionnaire and an 
Annual Hospital Interview for all sampled hospitals; continue the 
collection of electronic data on inpatient discharges as well as 
emergency department (ED) and outpatient department (OPD) visits 
through the collection of EHR data, UB-04 claims, or a state file; 
continue collection of substance-involved ED visit data through the ED 
component; eliminate medical record abstraction of a sample of ED and 
OPD visits as part of the design of the survey; and postpone frame 
development for free standing ambulatory care facilities.
    NHCS collects data items at the hospital, patient, inpatient 
discharge, and visit levels. Hospital-level data items include 
ownership, number of staffed beds, hospital service type, and EHR 
adoption. Patient-level data items are collected from electronic data 
and include basic demographic information, personal identifiers, name, 
address, social security number (if available), and medical record 
number (if available). Discharge-level data are collected through the 
UB-04 claims or EHR data and include admission and discharge dates, 
diagnoses, diagnostic services, and surgical and non-surgical 
procedures. Visit-level data are collected through EHR data and include 
reason for visit, diagnosis, procedures, medications, substances 
involved, and patient disposition.
    NHCS data have distinct advantages. Through the collection of 
personal identifiers, NHCS data can be linked to outside datasets such 
as the National Death Index (OMB No. 0920-0215, Exp. Date 12/31/2019) 
to calculate post-discharge mortality. Additionally, NHCS offers unique 
opportunities to study opioid-involved health outcomes, such as repeat 
hospital encounters for opioid use and opioid-related mortality rates.
    NHCS users include, but are not limited to, CDC, Congressional 
Research Office, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and 
Evaluation (ASPE), National Institutes of Health, American Health Care 
Association, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), SAMHSA, 
Bureau of the Census, Office of National Drug Control Policy, state and 
local governments, and nonprofit organizations. Other users of these 
data include universities, research organizations, many in the private 
sector, foundations, and a variety of users in the media.
    Data collected through NHCS are essential for evaluating the health 
status of the population, for the planning of programs and policy to 
improve health care delivery systems of the Nation, for studying 
morbidity trends, and for

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research activities in the health field. Historically, data have been 
used extensively in the development and monitoring of goals for the 
Year 2000, 2010, and 2020 Healthy People Objectives.
    There is no cost to respondents other than their time to 
participate. The total annualized burden is 7,080 hours.

                                        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)
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Hospital Director of Health     Initial Hospital             150               1               1             150
 Information Management (DHIM)   Intake
 or Director of Health           Questionnaire.
 Information Technology (DHIT).
Hospital Chief Executive        Recruitment                  150               1               1             150
 Officer (CEO)/Chief Financial   Survey
 Officer (CFO).                  Presentation.
Hospital DHIM or DHIT.........  Prepare and                  399              12               1           4,788
                                 transmit UB-04
                                 or State File
                                 for Inpatient
                                 and Ambulatory.
Hospital DHIM or DHIT.........  Prepare and                  199               4               1             796
                                 transmit EHR
                                 for Inpatient
                                 and Ambulatory.
Hospital CEO/CFO..............  Annual Hospital              598               1               2           1,196
                                 Interview.
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............           7,080
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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. 2018-19901 Filed 9-12-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4163-18-P