[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 56 (Thursday, March 23, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17584-17585]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05986]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration

[OMB No. 0906-0029--Extension]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Public Comment Request; Information Collection Request Title: Shortage 
Designation Management System (SDMS)

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 April 24, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under Review--Open for 
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the clearance 
requests submitted to OMB for review, email Samantha Miller, the Acting 
HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, at [email protected] or 
call 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 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

[[Page 17585]]

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. They are used 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. MUP designations are limited to a 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 State PCOs conduct needs assessments 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. In order to obtain a federal shortage designation for an area, 
population, or facility, PCOs must submit a shortage designation 
application through SDMS for review and approval by HRSA. 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. The information collected on the 
applications is used to determine which areas, populations, and 
facilities have qualifying shortages.
    In addition, interested parties, including the Governor, the State 
PCO, state professional associations, etc. are notified of each 
designation request submitted via SDMS for their comments and 
recommendations.
    HRSA reviews the HPSA applications submitted by the State PCOs, 
and--if they meet the designation eligibility criteria for the type of 
HPSA or MUA/P in the application--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. 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, 
so that interested parties can access the information.
    A 60-day Notice was published in the Federal Register, 88, FR pp. 
360-361 (January 4, 2023). There were no public comments.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: 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 the HRSA 
Bureau of Health Workforce 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: State 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, 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          20,736
 Preparation....................
SDMS Application................              54              83           4,482               4          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. 2023-05986 Filed 3-22-23; 8:45 am]
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