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 Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration
 AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services.
 ACTION: Notice.
 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 October 23, 2023.
 ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to 
                        *paperwork@hrsa.gov*
                         or mail the HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, Room 14N136B, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 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 
                        *paperwork@hrsa.gov*
                         or call Joella Roland, the HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, at (301) 443-3983.


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting information, please include the information request collection title for reference. *Information Collection Request Title:*
                     National Practitioner Data Bank for Adverse Information on Physicians and Other Health Care Practitioners—45 CFR Part 60 Regulations and Forms, OMB No. 0915-0126—Revision. *Abstract:*
                     This is a request for a revision of OMB approval of the information collection contained in regulations found in 45 CFR part 60 governing the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) and the forms to be used in registering with, reporting information to, and requesting information from the NPDB. Administrative forms are also included to aid in monitoring compliance with federal reporting and querying requirements. Responsibility for NPDB implementation and operation resides in HRSA's Bureau of Health Workforce. The intent of the NPDB is to improve the quality of health care by encouraging entities such as hospitals, state licensing boards, professional societies, and other eligible entities [1]
                    
                     providing health care services to identify and discipline those who engage in unprofessional behavior, and to restrict the ability of incompetent health care practitioners, providers, or suppliers to move from state to state without disclosure or discovery of previous damaging or incompetent performance. It also serves as a fraud and abuse clearinghouse for the reporting and disclosing of certain final adverse actions taken against health care practitioners, providers, or suppliers by health plans, federal agencies, and state agencies (excluding settlements in which no findings of liability have been made). Users of the NPDB include reporters (entities that are required to submit reports) and queriers (entities and individuals that are authorized to request information). The reporting forms, request for information forms (query forms), and administrative forms (used to monitor compliance) are accessed, completed, and submitted to the NPDB electronically through the NPDB website at 
                    *https://www.npdb.hrsa.gov/​*. All reporting and querying is performed through the secure portal of this website. This revision proposes changes to improve navigation through the secure portal. *Need and Proposed Use of the Information:*
                     The NPDB acts primarily as a flagging system; its principal purpose is to facilitate comprehensive review of practitioners' professional credentials and background. Information is collected from, and disseminated to, eligible entities (entities that are entitled to query and/or report to the NPDB as authorized in Title 45 CFR part 60 of the Code of Federal Regulations) on the following: (1) medical malpractice payments, (2) licensure actions taken by Boards of Medical Examiners, (3) state licensure and certification actions, (4) federal licensure and certification actions, (5) negative actions or findings taken by peer review organizations or private accreditation entities, (6) adverse actions taken against clinical privileges, (7) federal or state criminal convictions related to the delivery of a health care item or service, (8) civil judgments related to the delivery of a health care item or service, (9) exclusions from participation in federal or state health care programs, and (10) other adjudicated actions or decisions. It is intended for NPDB information to be considered with other relevant information in evaluating credentials of health care practitioners, providers, and suppliers. *Likely Respondents:*
                     Eligible entities or individuals that are entitled to query and/or report to the NPDB as authorized in regulations found at 45 CFR part 60. *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:*( print page 57119) Regulation citation
Form name
Number of 
                             respondents
Number of 
                             responses per  
                             respondent
Total 
                             responses
Average 
                             burden per  
                             response  
                             (in hours)
Total burden hours 
                             (rounded up)§ 60.6: Reporting errors, omissions, revisions or whether an action is on appeal
Correction, Revision-to-Action, Void, Notice of Appeal  (manual)
8,897
1
8,897
.2500
2,225Correction, Revision-to-Action, Void, Notice of Appeal (automated)
14,982
1
14,982
.0003
5§ 60.7: Reporting medical malpractice payments
Medical Malpractice Payment  (manual)
                             Medical Malpractice Payment (automated)
11,080
                             447
1
                             1
11,080
                             447
.7500
                             .0003
8,310
                             1§ 60.8: Reporting licensure actions taken by Boards of Medical Examiners
State Licensure or Certification  (manual)
13,996
1
13,996
.7500
10,497§ 60.9: Reporting licensure and certification actions taken by States
State Licensure or Certification (automated)
14,636
1
14,636
.0003
5§ 60.10: Reporting Federal licensure and certification actions
DEA/Federal Licensure
555
1
555
.7500
417§ 60.11: Reporting negative actions or findings taken by peer review organizations or private accreditation entities
Peer Review Organization
                             Accreditation
10
                             10
1
                             1
10
                             10
.7500
                             .7500
8
                             8§ 60.12: Reporting adverse actions taken against clinical privileges
Title IV Clinical Privileges Actions
                             Professional Society
782
                             27
1
                             1
782
                             27
.7500
                             .7500
587
                             21§ 60.13: Reporting Federal or State criminal convictions related to the delivery of a health care item or service
Criminal Conviction (Guilty Plea or Trial) (manual)
979
1
979
.7500
735§ 60.13: Reporting Federal or State criminal convictions related to the delivery of a health care item or service
Criminal Conviction (Guilty Plea or Trial) (automated)
406
1
406
.0003
1Deferred Conviction or Pre-Trial Diversion
60
1
60
.7500
45Nolo Contendere (no contest plea)
75
1
75
.7500
57Injunction
10
1
10
.7500
8§ 60.14: Reporting civil judgments related to the delivery of a health care item or service
Civil Judgment
6
1
6
.7500
5§ 60.15: Reporting exclusions from participation in Federal or State health care programs
Exclusion or Debarment  (manual)
                             Exclusion or Debarment (automated)
1,287
                             2,610
1
                             1
1,287
                             2,610
.7500
                             .0003
966
                             1§ 60.16: Reporting other adjudicated actions or decisions
Government Administrative  (manual)
1,367
1
1,367
.7500
1,026Government Administrative (automated)
632
1
632
.0003
1Health Plan Action
391
1
391
.7500
294§ 60.17: Information which hospitals must request from the National Practitioner Data Bank
One-Time Query for an Individual  (manual)
                             One-Time Query for an Individual (automated)
1,790,355
                             3,945,360
1
                             1
1,790,355
                             3,945,360
.0800
                             .0003
143,229
                             1,184§ 60.18: Requesting Information from the NPDB
One-Time Query for an Organization  (manual)
77,095
1
77,095
.0800
6,168One-Time Query for an Organization (automated)
33,993
1
33,993
.0003
11Self-Query on an Individual
223,589
1
223,589
.4200
93,908Self-Query on an Organization
879
1
879
.4200
370Continuous Query (manual)
1,030,917
1
1,030,917
.0800
82,474Continuous Query (automated)
900,661
1
900,661
.0003
271§ 60.21: How to dispute the accuracy of NPDB information
Subject Statement and Dispute
4,015
1
4,015
.7500
3,012Request for Dispute Resolution
83
1
83
8.0000
664Administrative
Entity Registration (Initial)
3,252
1
3,252
1.0000
3,252Entity Registration (Renewal & Update)
12,990
1
12,990
.2500
3,248State Licensing Board Data Request
87
1
87
10.5000
914State Licensing Board Attestation
360
1
360
1.0000
360Authorized Agent Attestation
171
1
171
1.0000
171Health Center Attestation
724
1
724
1.0000
724Hospital Attestation
3,238
1
3,238
1.0000
3,238Medical Malpractice Payer, Peer Review Organization, or Private Accreditation Organization Attestation
267
1
267
1.0000
267Other Eligible Entity Attestation
4,790
1
4,790
1.0000
4,790Corrective Action Plan (Entity)
10
1
10
.0800
1Reconciling Missing Actions
1,371
1
1,371
.0800
110Agent Registration (Initial)
78
1
78
1.0000
78Agent Registration (Renewal & Update)
318
1
318
.0800
26Electronic Funds Transfer Authorization
734
1
734
.0800
59Authorized Agent Designation
183
1
183
.2500
46Account Discrepancy
4
1
4
.2500
1New Administrator Request
215
1
215
.0800
18Purchase Query Credits
5,590
1
5,590
.0800
448Education Request
10
1
10
.0800
1Account Balance Transfer
10
1
10
.0800
1( print page 57120)Missing Report From Query Form
10
1
10
.0800
1Total
8,114,604

8,114,604

374,268
 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.


# Footnotes

1.
    
                         “Other 
                        *eligible entities*
                        ” that participate in the NPDB are defined in the provisions of Title IV, Section 1921, Section 1128E, and implementing regulations. In addition, a few federal agencies also participate with the NPDB through federal memorandums of understanding. Eligible entities are responsible for complying with all reporting and/or querying requirements that apply; some entities may qualify as more than one type of eligible entity. Each eligible entity must certify its eligibility in order to report to the NPDB, query the NPDB, or both. Information from the NPDB is available only to those entities specified as eligible in the statutes and regulations. Not all entities have the same reporting requirements or level of query access. Back to Citation


[FR Doc. 2023-17987 Filed 8-21-23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4165-15-P