[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 57 (Friday, March 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20476-20477]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06094]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-24-24DU; Docket No. CDC-2024-0021]


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 information 
collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This 
notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project 
titled Generic Clearance for the Collection of Minimal Data Necessary 
for Case Data During an Emergency Response. This information collection 
will allow CDC to collect the minimum data necessary for confirmed, 
probable, and suspected cases of any disease or condition that is the 
subject of an emergency response.

DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before May 21, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2024-
0021 by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.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 H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and Docket Number. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments 
to www.regulations.gov.
    Please note: Submit all comments through the Federal eRulemaking 
portal (www.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 H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; Telephone: 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;
    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; and
    5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

    Generic Clearance for the Collection of Minimal Data Necessary for 
Case Data During an Emergency Response--New--Office of Public Health 
Data, Surveillance, and Technology (OPHDST), Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    During a public health emergency response, state, tribal, local, 
and territorial (STLT) health departments and CDC need to exchange data 
on confirmed, probable, and suspected cases rapidly. Timely 
notifications of cases from STLT to CDC are critical to provide 
situational awareness at the federal level to support decision making, 
particularly for public health threats that escalate quickly and cross 
jurisdictions. To this end, collecting the minimum data necessary will 
provide standardization and consistency among technical approaches and 
Agency-wide processes. The harmonization across CDC programs and STLTs 
will reduce the burden on STLTs and healthcare providers from ad hoc 
requests for case data from CDC programs.
    Section 319D of the Public Health Service Act (as amended Through 
Pub. L. 118-35, enacted January 19, 2024) states that CDC shall define 
the minimum data necessary as the Agency collaborates with STLTs and 
other partners to improve the appropriate near real-time electronic 
transmission of interoperable public health data for situational 
awareness and response to public health emergencies. In addition, the 
CDC Advisory Committee to the

[[Page 20477]]

Director (ACD) recommends that CDC should establish the minimum data 
necessary for core data sources including case data to be transmitted 
to CDC from STLTs.
    CDC requests a three-year approval for a New Generic Information 
Collection Request (ICR), for the Collection of Minimal Data Necessary 
for Case Data During an Emergency Response. This new ICR includes a 
request for approval for CDC to collect the minimum data necessary for 
confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of any disease or condition 
that is the subject of an emergency response. Data may be sent to CDC 
by STLT health departments through the National Notifiable Diseases 
Surveillance System (NNDSS), Data Collation and Integration for Public 
Health Event Response (DCIPHER), or other automated or non-automated 
mechanisms including but not limited to fax, email, secure file upload, 
and data entry to a secure website.
    Data will be used for ongoing situational awareness and to monitor 
the occurrence and spread of the disease or condition. Other uses may 
include identifying populations or geographic areas at high risk; 
planning prevention and control programs and policies; and allocating 
resources appropriately. The data may also be used by CDC to obtain 
travel histories and other information to describe and manage outbreaks 
and conduct public health follow-up to minimize the spread of disease.
    The burden estimates include the time that states, territories, 
freely associated states, and cities will incur to submit confirmed, 
probable, and suspected case data for diseases or conditions that are 
the subject of an emergency response. The estimated annual burden for 
the 60 respondents is 10,951 hours. There is no cost to respondents 
other than their time to participate.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                     Number of    Average burden
      Type of respondent            Form name        Number of     responses per   per response    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent      (in hours)      (in hours)
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States........................  Submission of                 50             365           30/60           9,125
                                 case data.
Territories...................  Submission of                  5             365           30/60             913
                                 case data.
Freely Associated States......  Submission of                  3             365           30/60             548
                                 case data.
Cities........................  Submission of                  2             365           30/60             365
                                 case data.
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............          10,951
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Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Public Health 
Ethics and Regulations, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2024-06094 Filed 3-21-24; 8:45 am]
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