[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 198 (Tuesday, October 13, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64470-64472]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-22490]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-21-0728; Docket No. CDC-2020-0096]


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 Notifiable Diseases 
Surveillance System (NNDSS). The NNDSS is the nation's public health 
surveillance system that monitors the occurrence and spread of diseases 
and

[[Page 64471]]

conditions that are nationally notifiable or under standard 
surveillance.

DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before December 14, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2020-
0096 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

    National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) (OMB 
Control No. 0920-0728, Exp. 4/30/2023)--Revision--Center for 
Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services (CSELS), Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    The Public Health Services Act (42 U.S.C. 241) authorizes CDC to 
disseminate nationally notifiable condition information. The National 
Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) is based on data 
collected at the state, territorial and local levels as a result of 
legislation and regulations in those jurisdictions that require health 
care providers, medical laboratories, and other entities to submit 
health-related data on reportable conditions to public health 
departments. These reportable conditions, which include infectious and 
non-infectious diseases, vary by jurisdiction depending upon each 
jurisdiction's health priorities and needs. Each year, the Council of 
State and Territorial Disease Epidemiologists (CSTE), supported by CDC, 
determines which reportable conditions should be designated nationally 
notifiable or under standardized surveillance.
    CDC requests a three-year approval for a Revision to the NNDSS (OMB 
Control No. 0920-0728). This Revision includes requests for approval 
to: (1) Receive case notification data for Blastomycosis which is now 
under standardized surveillance; and (2) receive disease-specific data 
elements for Carbon Monoxide (CO) Poisoning, Congenital Syphilis, and 
Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD, not congenital).
    The NNDSS currently facilitates the submission and aggregation of 
case notification data voluntarily submitted to CDC from 60 
jurisdictions: Public health departments in every U.S. state, New York 
City, Washington DC, five U.S. territories (American Samoa, the 
Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the 
U.S. Virgin Islands), and three freely associated states (Federated 
States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the 
Republic of Palau). This information is shared across jurisdictional 
boundaries and both surveillance and prevention and control activities 
are coordinated at regional and national levels.
    Approximately 90% of case notifications are encrypted and submitted 
to NNDSS electronically from already existing databases by automated 
electronic messages. When automated transmission is not possible, case 
notifications are faxed, emailed, uploaded to a secure network or 
entered into a secure website. All case notifications that are faxed, 
emailed, and uploaded are done so in the form of an aggregate weekly or 
annual report, not individual cases. These different mechanisms used to 
send case notifications to CDC vary by the jurisdiction and the disease 
or condition. Private personally identifiable information (PII) is 
collected from automated electronic messages and information can be 
retrieved by PII. In addition, some combinations of submitted data 
elements could potentially be used to identify individuals. Private 
information is not be disclosed unless otherwise compelled by law. All 
data are treated in a secure manner consistent with the technical, 
administrative, and operational controls required by the Federal 
Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) and the 2010 
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Recommended 
Security Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations. 
Weekly tables of nationally notifiable diseases are available through 
CDC WONDER and data.cdc.gov. Annual summaries of finalized nationally 
notifiable disease data are published on CDC WONDER and data.cdc.gov 
and disease-specific data are published by individual CDC programs.
    The burden estimates include the number of hours that the public 
health department uses to process and send case notification data from 
their jurisdiction to CDC. Specifically, the burden estimates include 
separate burden hours incurred for automated and non-automated 
transmissions, separate weekly burden hours incurred for modernizing 
surveillance systems as part of NNDSS Modernization Initiative (NMI) 
implementation, separate burden hours incurred for annual data 
reconciliation and submission, and separate one-time burden hours 
incurred for the addition of new diseases and data elements. The burden 
estimates for the one-time burden for reporting jurisdictions for the 
addition

[[Page 64472]]

of case notification data for Blastomycosis and disease-specific data 
elements for CO Poisoning, Congenital Syphilis, and Sexually 
Transmitted Disease (not congenital). The estimated annual burden for 
the 257 respondents is 18,354 hours. The total burden hours increased 
from 18,414 to 18,954 since the last revision due to an increase in 
diseases and disease-specific data elements added in this revision as 
compared to the last revision.

                                                            Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                                                                              Average
                                                                                             Number of       Number of      burden per     Total burden
              Type of respondents                               Form name                   respondents    responses per   response (in     (in hours)
                                                                                                            respondent        hours)
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States.........................................  Weekly (Automated).....................              50              52           20/60             867
States.........................................  Weekly (Non-automated).................              10              52               2           1,040
States.........................................  Weekly (NMI Implementation)............              50              52               4          10,400
States.........................................  Annual.................................              50               1              75           3,750
States.........................................  One-time Addition of Diseases and Data               50               1               2             100
                                                  Elements.
Territories....................................  Weekly (Automated).....................               5              52           20/60              87
Territories....................................  Weekly, Quarterly (Non-automated)......               5              56           20/60              93
Territories....................................  Weekly (NMI Implementation)............               5              52               4           1,040
Territories....................................  Annual.................................               5               1               5              25
Territories....................................  One-time Addition of Diseases and Data                5               1               2              10
                                                  Elements.
Freely Associated States.......................  Weekly (Automated).....................               3              52           20/60              52
Freely Associated States.......................  Weekly, Quarterly (Non-automated)......               3              56           20/60              56
Freely Associated States.......................  Annual.................................               3               1               5              15
Freely Associated States.......................  One-time Addition of Diseases and Data                3               1               2               6
                                                  Elements.
Cities.........................................  Weekly (Automated).....................               2              52           20/60              35
Cities.........................................  Weekly (Non-automated).................               2              52               2             208
Cities.........................................  Weekly (NMI Implementation)............               2              52               4             416
Cities.........................................  Annual.................................               2               1              75             150
Cities.........................................  One-time Addition of Diseases and Data                2               1               2               4
                                                  Elements.
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total......................................  .......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............          18,954
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Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific 
Integrity, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2020-22490 Filed 10-9-20; 8:45 am]
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