[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 199 (Monday, October 15, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51957-51958]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-22377]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Docket No. CDC-2018-0099]


Draft Guideline: Infection Control in Healthcare Personnel: 
Infrastructure and Routine Practices for Occupational Infection 
Prevention and Control Services

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

ACTION: Notice with comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the 
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), announces the opening 
of a docket to obtain comment on the Draft Guideline: Infection Control 
in Healthcare Personnel: Infrastructure and Routine Practices for 
Occupational Infection Prevention and Control Services (Draft 
Guideline). The Draft Guideline is an update of two sections of the 
Guideline for Infection Control in Healthcare Personnel, 1998: C. 
Infection Control Objectives for a Personnel Health Service and D. 
Elements of a Personnel Health Service for Infection Control. The 
updated recommendations in the Draft Guideline are intended to 
facilitate the provision of occupational infection prevention and 
control services to healthcare personnel and to prevent transmission of 
infections between healthcare personnel and others.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before December 14, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2018-
0099, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National 
Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, Attn: Docket No. CDC-2018-0099, HICPAC 
Secretariat, 1600 Clifton Road NE, Mailstop A07, Atlanta, Georgia 
30329.
    Instructions: Submissions via http://regulations.gov are preferred. 
All submissions received must include the agency name and Docket 
Number. All relevant comments received will be posted without change to 
http://regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. 
For access to the docket to read background documents or comments 
received, go to http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kendra Cox, Division of Healthcare 
Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious 
Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road 
NE, Mailstop A-07, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; Telephone: (404) 639-4000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Participation

    Interested persons or organizations are invited to participate by 
submitting written views, recommendations, and data.
    Please note that comments received, including attachments and other 
supporting materials, are part of the public record and are subject to 
public disclosure. Comments will be posted on https://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, do not include any information in your 
comments or supporting materials that you consider confidential or

[[Page 51958]]

inappropriate for public disclosure. If you include your name, contact 
information, or other information that identifies you in the body of 
your comments, that information will be on public display. CDC will 
review all submissions and may choose (but is not required) to redact, 
or withhold, submissions containing private or proprietary information 
such as Social Security numbers, medical information, inappropriate 
language, or duplicate/near-duplicate examples of a mass-mail campaign. 
CDC will carefully consider all comments timely submitted in 
preparation of the final guideline Infection Control in Healthcare 
Personnel: Infrastructure and Routine Practices for Occupational 
Infection Prevention and Control Services and may revise the final 
document as appropriate.

Background

    The Draft Guideline, located in the ``Supporting & Related 
Material'' tab of the docket, updates two sections from the 1998 
Guideline: C. Infection Control Objectives for a Personnel Health 
Service and D. Elements of a Personnel Health Service for Infection 
Control. Those sections described the infrastructure and routine 
practices of Occupational Health Services for providing occupational 
infection prevention and control services to healthcare personnel.
    Once finalized, the Draft Guideline is intended for use by the 
leaders and staff of Occupational Health Services and the 
administrators and leaders of healthcare organizations in order to 
facilitate the provision of occupational infection prevention and 
control services to healthcare personnel.
    Since 2015, the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory 
Committee (HICPAC) has worked with national partners, academicians, 
public health professionals, healthcare providers, and other partners 
to develop this Draft Guideline as a recommendation for CDC to update 
sections of the 1998 Guideline. HICPAC includes representatives from 
public health, infectious diseases, regulatory and other federal 
agencies, professional societies, and other stakeholders.
    The draft recommendations in this Draft Guideline are informed by a 
systematic literature review of articles published in peer-reviewed 
journals or repositories of systematic reviews; and a review of 
occupational infection prevention and control guidelines, regulations, 
and standards. This Draft Guideline is not, and once finalized will not 
be, a federal rule or regulation; instead its purpose, as discussed 
above, will be to facilitate the provision of occupational prevention 
and control services to healthcare personnel.

    Dated: October 10, 2018.
Sandra Cashman,
Executive Secretary, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2018-22377 Filed 10-12-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P