[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 4, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 360-361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-28572]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Public Comment Request; Shortage Designation Management System

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department 
of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, HRSA announces plans to submit an Information Collection 
Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks comments from the 
public regarding the burden estimate, below, or any other aspect of the 
ICR.

DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than March 6, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to [email protected] or mail to: 
Samantha Miller, HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, Room 
14N39, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and 
draft instruments, email [email protected] or call Samantha Miller, 
the acting HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at (301) 594-
4394.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting 
information, please include the information request collection title 
for reference.
    Information Collection Request Title: Shortage Designation 
Management System OMB No. 0906-0029--Extension.
    Abstract: HRSA is committed to improving the health of the nation's 
underserved communities and vulnerable populations by developing, 
implementing, evaluating, and refining programs that strengthen the 
nation's health workforce. The Department of Health and Human Services 
relies on two federal shortage designations to identify and dedicate 
resources to areas and populations in greatest need of providers: 
Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designations and Medically 
Underserved Area/Medically Underserved Population (MUA/P) designations. 
HPSA designations are geographic areas, population groups, and 
facilities that are experiencing a shortage of health professionals. 
The authorizing statute for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) 
created HPSAs to fulfill the statutory requirement that NHSC personnel 
be directed to areas of greatest need. To further differentiate areas 
of greatest need, HRSA calculates a score for each HPSA. There are 
three categories of HPSAs based on health discipline: primary care, 
dental health, and mental health. Scores range from 1 to 25 for primary 
care and mental health and from 1 to 26 for dental, with higher scores 
indicating greater need. HRSA uses these scores to prioritize 
applications for NHSC Loan Repayment Program award funding, and 
determine service sites eligible to receive NHSC Scholarship and 
Students-to-Service participants.
    MUA/P designations are geographic areas, or population groups 
within geographic areas, that are experiencing a shortage of primary 
care health care services based on the Index of Medical Underservice. 
MUAs are designated for the entire population of a particular 
geographic area. MUA/P designations are limited to particular subset of 
the population within a geographic area. Both designations were created 
to aid the federal government in identifying areas with healthcare 
workforce shortages.
    As part of HRSA's cooperative agreement with the state Primary Care 
Offices (PCOs), the PCOs conduct needs assessment in their states, 
determine what areas are eligible for designations, and submit 
designation applications for HRSA review via the Shortage Designation 
Management System (SDMS). Requests that come from other sources are 
referred to the PCOs for their review, concurrence, and submission via 
SDMS. To obtain a federal shortage designation for an area, population, 
or facility, PCOs must submit a shortage designation application 
through SDMS for HRSA's review and approval. Both the HPSA and MUA/P 
application request local, state, and national data on the population 
that is experiencing a shortage of health professionals and the number 
of health professionals relative to the population covered by the 
proposed designation. HRSA uses the information collected on the 
applications to determine which areas, populations, and facilities have 
qualifying shortages.
    In addition, HRSA notifies interested parties, including the 
governor, the state primary care association, state professional 
associations, etc., of each designation request submitted via SDMS for 
their comments and recommendations.
    HRSA reviews the HPSA applications submitted by the PCOs, and--if 
they meet the designation eligibility criteria--designates the HPSA or 
MUA/P on behalf of the Secretary. HPSAs are statutorily required to be 
annually reviewed and revised as necessary after initial designation to 
reflect current data. HPSA scores, therefore, may and do change from 
time to time. Currently, MUA/Ps do not have a statutorily mandated 
review period.
    The lists of designated HPSAs are published annually in the Federal 
Register. In addition, lists of HPSAs are updated on the HRSA website, 
https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/shortage-area.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: In 2014, SDMS was 
launched to facilitate the collection of information needed to 
designate HPSAs and MUA/Ps. The information obtained from the SDMS 
application is used to determine which areas, populations, and 
facilities have critical shortages of health professionals per PCO 
application submission. The SDMS HPSA application and SDMS MUA/P 
application are used for these designation determinations. Applicants 
must submit a SDMS application to HRSA to obtain a federal shortage 
designation. The application asks for local, state, and national data 
required to determine the application's eligibility to obtain a federal 
shortage designation. In addition, applicants must enter detailed 
information explaining how the area, population, or facility faces a 
critical shortage of health professionals.
    Likely Respondents: PCOs interested in obtaining a primary care, 
dental, or mental HPSA designation or a MUA/P in their state.
    Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain,

[[Page 361]]

disclose or provide the information requested. This includes the time 
needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and 
utilize technology and systems for the purpose of collecting, 
validating and verifying information, processing and maintaining 
information, and disclosing and providing information; to train 
personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of information; to 
search data sources; to complete and review the collection of 
information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the information. The 
total annual burden hours estimated for this ICR are summarized in the 
table below.

                                     Total Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                     Number of                    Average burden
            Form name                Number of     responses per       Total       per response    Total burden
                                    respondents     respondent       responses      (in hours)         hours
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Designation Planning and                      54              48           2,592            8.00          20,736
 Preparation....................
SDMS Application................              54              83           4,482            4.00          17,928
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    Total.......................              54  ..............           7,074  ..............          38,664
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    HRSA specifically requests comments on (1) the necessity and 
utility of the proposed information collection for the proper 
performance of the agency's functions; (2) the accuracy of the 
estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected; and (4) the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology to 
minimize the information collection burden.

Maria G. Button,
Director, Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2022-28572 Filed 1-3-23; 8:45 am]
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