25926 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 87 / Thursday, May 4, 2000 / Notices

Reports Clearance Officer on (202) 690–

6207.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information shall have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including through the

use of automated collection techniques

or other forms of information

technology.

Proposed Projects 1. OCR Pre-grant

Automation Project— New—The Office

for Civil Rights (OCR) has developed a

standardized automated review format

for the conduct of civil rights

compliance investigations of health care

providers who have requested

certification to participate in the

Medicare program. Health care

providers requesting certification must

review their policies/practices and

submit material to demonstrate

compliance with the civil rights

requirements of Title VI of the Civil

Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the

Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Age

Discrimination Act of 1975.

Respondents: Businesses or other forprofit, State, Local or Tribal

Government; Annual Number of

Respondents: 3,000; Frequency of

Response: one time; Average Burden per

Response: 16 hours; Annual Burden:

48,000 hours.

Send comments to Cynthia Agens

Bauer, OS Reports Clearance Officer,

Room 503H, Humphrey Building, 200

Independence Avenue S.W.,

Washington DC, 20201. Written

comments should be received within 60

days of this notice.

Dated: April 18, 2000.

Dennis P. Williams,

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Budget.

[FR Doc. 00–11126 Filed 5–3–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4150–04–V

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

National Committee on Vital and Health

Statistics: Meeting

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory

Committee Act, the Department of

Health and Human Services announces

the following advisory committee

meeting.

Name: National Committee on Vital

and Health Statistics (NCVHS)

Executive Subcommittee.

Time and Date: 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.

EDT, May 9, 2000.

Place: Hubert H. Humphrey Building,

Conference Room 425A, 200

Independence Avenue S.W.,

Washington, DC.

Status: Open.

Purpose: At this meeting, the

Executive Subcommittee will discuss

work plans for the year 2000, including

future meetings, hearings, reports, and

other projects. They will also begin to

plan for a strategic planning retreat to be

held later this year.

Notice: In the interest of security, the

Department has instituted stringent

procedures for entrance to the Hubert H.

Humphrey building by non-government

employees. Persons without a

government identification card may

need to have the guard call for an escort

to the meeting.

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Substantive program information as

well as summaries of meetings and a

roster of committee members may be

obtained from Marjorie S. Greenberg,

Executive Secretary, NCVHS, National

Center for Health Statistics, Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention, Room

1100, Presidential Building, 6525

Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, Maryland

20782, telephone (301) 458–4245.

Information also is available on the

NCVHS home page of the HHS website:

http://www.ncvhs.hhs.gov/, where

further information will be posted when

available.

Dated: April 26, 2000.

James Scanlon,

Director, Division of Data Policy, Office of

the Assistant Secretary for Planning and

Evaluation.

[FR Doc. 00–11125 Filed 5–3–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4151–05–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Healthcare Research and

Quality

Agency Information Collection

Activities; Proposed Collection:

Comment Request

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research

and Quality (AHRQ), formerly known as

the Agency for Health Care Policy and

Research (AHCPR), HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the

Agency for Healthcare Research and

Quality (AHRQ) intention to request the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) to allow a proposed information

collection project: ‘‘Development and

Implementation of National guideline

Clearinghouse (NGC) Evaluation’’. In

accordance with the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995, Public law 104–

13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), AHRQ

invites the public to comment on this

proposed information collection.

This proposed information collection

was previously published in the Federal

Register on February 25, 2000 and

allowed 60 days for public comment. No

public comments were received.

The purpose of this notice is to allow

an additional 30 days for public

comment.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received by June 5, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be submitted to the OMB Desk Officer

at following address: Allison Eydt,

Human Resources and Housing Branch,

Office of Information and Regulatory

Affairs, OMB, New Executive Office

Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC

20503.

Comments submitted in response to

this notice will be summarized and

included in the request for OMB

approval of the proposed information

collection. All comments will become a

matter of public record.

In accordance with the above cited

legislation, comments on the AHRQ

information collection proposal are

requested with regard to any of the

following: (a) whether the proposed

collection of information is necessary

for the proper performance of functions

of the Agency, including whether the

information will have practical utility;

(b) the accuracy of the Agency’s

estimate of the burden (including hours

and costs) of the proposed collection of

information; (c) ways to enhance the

quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected; and (d)

ways to minimize the burden of the

collection of information on

respondents, including the use of

automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

Copies of the proposed collection

plans, data collection instruments, and

specific details on the estimated burden

can be obtained from the AHRQ Reports

Clearance Officer.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cynthia D. McMichael, AHRQ Reports

Clearance Officer, (301) 594–3132.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 87 / Thursday, May 4, 2000 / Notices 25927

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposed Project

Development and Implementation of

National Guideline Clearinghouse

(NGC) Evaluation

The NGC already reaches many

individuals indicating its great potential

to affect medical practice. In the nine

months since it became available to the

public, the NGC site has processed over

5 million requests guideline information

with an average user visit lasting seven

minutes. Over the last six months, the

‘‘hit volume’’ (e.g. connection to the

Internet site) has been fairly constant

with approximately 36,000 per day. The

majority of users are within the United

States, but the site is also utilized

globally, indicating the potential for far

reaching effects.

AS the NGC audience continues to

grow and the field of best practices

develops, the Web site will only be

effective if it keeps pace with the needs

of its users. A small study conducted by

the American Medical Association

(AMA) to gauge NGC awareness and

satisfaction with the site among their

members provides the only data to date

on how the NGC is currently perceived

by users. Although its conclusions were

limited by a small sample size of

physician respondents (e.g., n=44), the

AMA survey suggested that several

functions of the NGC could be

improved. These findings support the

need for a further, more comprehensive

evaluation of the site’s quality and

usefulness in order for AHRQ to meet

users’ needs and to promote

implementation of guidelines by health

care professionals. The results of this

type of evaluation will assist AHRQ and

others to understand what users want

and need to utilize clinical guidelines in

the provision of care. The timeliness

and need for this evaluation effort are

further underscored by the development

of a customer satisfaction survey by the

NGC Web site developer pursuant to its

original contract in accordance with

widely accepted management practices.

This electronic survey is designed to

capture NGC audience satisfaction with

the interface and format of the Web site

and will complement this proposed

evaluation of the content, quality, and

usefulness of information.

The NGC is intended to serve the

needs of a diverse population of users.

Not only are the user groups different,

their expectations and uses of the NGC

are unique. Moreover, no single

sampling or data collection technique is

sufficient to capture the needed

information from these groups. A survey

that attempted to capture the

perspectives of all groups would be

long, complicated, and burdensome.

Therefore, we propose using a threetiered data collection scheme designed

to get distinct types of information in a

manner most useful to helping evaluate

how well the Web site is serving its

intended populations. The three

proposed approaches are survey

questionnaire, focus group discussions,

and unstructured, informational

discussions. Each will be applied to a

subset of all users, as appropriate, to

capture their unique needs and

complement the overall data collection

effort.

Data Confidentiality Provisions

Although no information on race,

income, sexual behavior and attitudes,

religious beliefs, or other matters

commonly considered private will be

requested, the contractor responsible for

conducting the study will perform in

accordance with the requirements of the

Privacy Act, 5 USC 552a, and the

Agency’s confidentiality statute, 42 USC

299c–3(c), to protect respondents’

privacy and the confidentiality of data

collected. All results will be reported

without attributing responses to any

individual source. Information gained

for the purposes of this data collection

will only be used for the purposes of

this project.

Data Products

The evaluation goals will be achieved

through three types of data collection:

(1) Written survey questionnaires, (2)

focus groups, and (3) discussions with

individuals working in health care who

contribute to guideline development

and use. Assignments of data collection

modes to target audience groups are

designed to reach the maximum number

of respondents and the broadest range of

groups. Participation will be minimally

burdensome and is voluntary. Both

qualitative and quantitative data will be

collected to characterize the experiences

and needs of users in a manner most

likely to facilitate improvement

activities by AHRQ.

The project will benefit AHRQ, the

medical community, policymakers,

health service researchers, and

ultimately patients in the following

ways:

• AHRQ will be able to monitor how

their current format and content are

serving their intended audiences;

• AHRQ will be able to assess how

the Clearinghouse is affecting future

development of guidelines and their

implementation in clinical practices;

• AHRQ will be able to use the

evaluation results to refine the site,

thereby making it more useful for the

medical community and other

professionals who use guidelines in care

management;

• Individual clinicians will be better

able to obtain timely guidance about the

management of complex clinical

problems;

• Federal, State, and private

purchasers will be better able to

encourage contracted or prospective

plans and providers to adopt clinical

practices that are consistent with the

best available standards of care; and

• Public policy experts will be better

able to obtain unbiased, evidence-based

guidelines and information for

decisionmaking and policy purposes.

Method of Collection

Electronic mail will be used to

transmit the written survey responses.

The written survey will be also be

linked to the NGC Website. Users can

complete the survey on-line, and their

responses will be automatically

submitted. By using e-mail and the Web

link to target our audience, we are

ensuring that our respondents are Webbased users. This approach significantly

reduces the burden to non-Web users

who would be unable to contribute

information useful to this data

collection. Additionally, this use of

information technology minimizes the

burden on the targeted respondents by

improving the ease with which they can

submit their survey responses.

ESTIMATED ANNUAL RESPONDENT BURDEN

Annual number of respondents

Estimated time

per respondent (hours)

Estimated total

annual burden

hours

Estimated annual cost to

the government

1,359 ............................................................................................................................................ 0.25 408 $249,993

25928 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 87 / Thursday, May 4, 2000 / Notices

The survey instrument is short and

poses minimal burden on the time of

respondents. Estimates of time required

to complete the survey during the pilot

phase range from 7 to 20 minutes. The

annual hour burden calculation assumes

each survey will last 15 minutes,

therefore the total of annualized hourly

costs to participants is estimated to be

$30,040.

John M. Eisenbert,

Director.

[FR Doc. 00–10983 Filed 5–3–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–90–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control And

Prevention

[60Day–00–36]

Proposed Data Collections Submitted

for Public Comment and

Recommendations

In compliance with the requirement

of section 3506 (c)(2)(A) of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention is providing opportunity for

public comment on proposed data

collection projects. To request more

information on the proposed projects or

to obtain a copy of the data collection

plans and instruments, call the CDC

Reports Clearance Officer on (404) 639–

7090.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information shall have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including through the

use of automated collection techniques

for other forms of information

technology. Send comments to Seleda

Perryman, CDC Assistant Reports

Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road,

MS–D24, Atlanta, GA 30333. Written

comments should be received within 60

days of this notice.

Proposed Projects

Youth Risk Behavior Survey—(0920–

0258)—Renewal—National Center for

Chronic Disease Prevention and Health

Promotion (NCCDPHP). The proposed

project is the 2001 national schoolbased Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The

purpose of this request is to renew OMB

clearance to continue an ongoing

biennial survey among high school

students attending regular public,

private, and Catholic schools in grades

9–12. The survey assesses priority heath

risk behaviors related to the major

preventable causes of mortality,

morbidity, and social problems among

both youth and adults in the U.S. OMB

clearance for the 1999 survey expired

January 2000 (OMB No. 0920–0258,

expiration 01/00). Data on the health

risk behaviors of adolescents is the

focus of approximately 40 national

health objectives in Healthy People

2010. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey

provides data to measure at least 10 of

these health objectives and 3 of the 10

Leading Health Indicators. In addition,

the Youth Risk Behavior Survey can

identify racial and ethnic disparities in

health risk behaviors. No other national

source of data measures as many of the

2010 objectives that address behaviors

of adolescents. The data also will have

significant implications for policy and

program development for school health

programs nationwide.

The total estimated cost to student

respondents is $47,250, which is

calculated in terms of their time spent

in responding to the survey and is based

on an assumed minimum wage of $5.25/

hour for the 1999–2000 school year. The

total estimated cost to school

administrators is $5,882 which is

calculated in terms of their time spent

in recruitment and is based on an

assumed average hourly rate of $34.

Thus, the total costs to respondents,

based on the costs of their time, are

$53,132.

Respondents Number of

respondents

Number of

responses

per respondent

Burden per

response

(in hours)

Total burden hours.

High school students ....................................................................................................... 12,000 1 0.75 9,000

School administrators ...................................................................................................... 345 1 0.50 173

Total .......................................................................................................................... 12,345 9,173

Dated: April 28, 2000.

Charles W. Gollmar,

Acting Associate Director for Policy Planning

and Evaluation, Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention.

[FR Doc. 00–11095 Filed 5–3–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4163–18–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention

Notice of Intent; Genetic Testing Under

the Clinical Laboratory Improvement

Amendments

SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC) acts as a

scientific advisor to the Health Care

Financing Administration (HCFA) in

development of requirements for

clinical laboratories under the Clinical

Laboratory Improvement Amendments

(CLIA). The CDC is issuing this notice

to advise the public that the Department

of Health and Human Services (HHS)

will be preparing a Notice of Proposed

Rule Making (NPRM) to revise the CLIA

regulations applicable to laboratories

performing human genetic testing.

Before issuing the NPRM, comments are

being solicited on the recommendations

of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement

Advisory Committee (CLIAC) to change

current CLIA requirements to

specifically recognize a genetic testing

specialty. This new speciality area will

address unique testing issues in the preanalytic, analytic, and post-analytic

phases of testing that could affect the

accuracy and reliability of test results,

and related issues such as informed

consent, confidentiality, counseling,

and the clinical appropriateness of a

genetic test. To ensure that a full range

of issues relating to this proposed action

are addressed and potential impacts are

identified, comments and suggestions

are invited from all interested parties.

Comments or questions regarding this

proposed action should be directed to

CDC at the address below.

The Department has also established

a Secretary’s Advisory Committee on

Genetic Testing (SACGT) to advise the

Department on the medical, scientific,

ethical, legal, and social issues raised by

the development and use of genetic