[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 39 (Wednesday, February 28, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9009-9010]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3446]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities. Proposed Collection: 
Comment Request

    In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects (section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 
Title 44, United States Code, as amended by the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, Public Law 104-13), the Health Resources and Services 
Administration (HRSA) publishes periodic summaries of proposed projects 
being developed for submission to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. To request more 
information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data 
collection plans and draft instruments, call the HRSA Reports Clearance 
Officer on (301) 443-1129.
    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 the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.

Proposed Project: National Practitioner Data Bank for Adverse 
Information on Physicians and Other Health Care Practitioners: 
Regulations and Forms (OMB No. 0915-0126)--Extension

    The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) was established through 
Title IV of Public Law (P.L.) 99-660, the Health Care Quality 
Improvement Act of 1986, as amended. Final regulations governing the 
NPDB are codified at 45 CFR part 60. Responsibility for NPDB 
implementation and operation resides in the Bureau of Health 
Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration, Department 
of Health and Human Services (HHS). The NPDB began operation on 
September 1, 1990.
    The intent of Title IV of P.L. 99-660 is to improve the quality of 
health care by encouraging hospitals, State licensing boards, 
professional societies, and other entities providing health care 
services, to identify and discipline those who engage in unprofessional 
behavior; and to restrict the ability of incompetent physicians, 
dentists, and other health care practitioners to move from State to 
State without disclosure of the practitioner's previous damaging or 
incompetent performance.
    The NPDB acts primarily as a flagging system; its principal purpose 
is to facilitate comprehensive review of practitioners' professional 
credentials and background. Information on medical malpractice 
payments, adverse licensure actions, adverse clinical privileging 
actions, adverse professional society actions, and Medicare/Medicaid 
exclusions is collected from, and disseminated to, eligible entities. 
It is intended that NPDB information should be considered with other 
relevant information in evaluating a practitioner's credentials.
    The reporting forms and the request for information forms (query 
forms) are accessed, completed, and submitted to the NPDB 
electronically through the NPDB Web site at http://www.npdb-hipdb.hrsa.gov. All reporting and querying is performed through this 
secure Web site. Due to overlap in requirements for the Healthcare 
Integrity and Protection Data Bank (HIPDB), some of the NPDB's burden 
has been subsumed under the HIPDB.
    Estimates of Annualized Burden are as Follows:

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                                                                                    Hours per
              Regulation citation                  Number of      Frequency of      response       Total burden
                                                  respondents      responses        (minutes)         hours
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60.6(a) Errors & Omissions....................             303              5                15            385
60.6(b) Revisions to Actions..................             115              1.1              30             64
60.7(b) Medical Malpractice Payment Report....             485             39                45         14,236
60.8(b) Adverse Action Reports--State Boards..               0              0                 0              0
60.9(a)3 Adverse Action Clinical Privileges &              686              1.5              45            785
 Professional Society.........................
Requests for Hearings by Entities.............               1              1               480              8
60.10(a)(1) Queries by Hospital--Practitioner            6,000             37.3               5         18,615
 Applications.................................
60.10(a)(2) Queries by Hospitals--Two Yr.                6,000            149                 5         74,461
 Cycle........................................
60.11(a)(1) Disclosure to Hospitals...........               0              0                 0              0
60.11(a)(2) Disclosure to Practitioners (Self-               0              0                 0              0
 Query).......................................
60.11(a)(3) Disclosure to Licensure Boards....              80            225                 5          1,499
60.11(a)(4) Queries by Non-Hospital Health               4,938            437                 5        179,673
 Care Entities................................
60.11(a)(5) Queries by Plaintiffs' Attorneys..               5              5                30              3.0
60.11(a)(6) Queries by Non-Hospital Health                   0              0                 0              0
 Care Entities--Peer Review...................

[[Page 9010]]

 
60.11(a)(7) Requests by Researchers for                    100              1                30             50
 Aggregated Data..............................
60.14(b) Practitioner Places a Report in                   666              1                 5             55
 Disputed Status..............................
60.14(b) Practitioner Statement...............           2,563              1                45          1,922
60.14(b) Practitioner Requests for Secretarial             117              1               480            936
 Review.......................................
60.3 Entity Registration--Initial.............             500              1                60            500
60.3 Entity Registration--Update..............             643              1                 5             54
60.11(a) Authorized Agent Designation--Initial             500              1                15            125
60.11(a) Authorized Agent-Update..............              86              1                 5              7
60.12(c) Account Discrepancy Report...........             300              1                15             75
60.12(c) Electronic Funds Transfer                         363              1                15             91
 Authorization................................
60.3 Entity Reactivation......................             100              1                60            100
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    Total.....................................  ..............  ...............  ..............       293,644
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Numbers in the table may not add up exactly due to rounding.

    Send comments to Susan Queen, PhD, HRSA Reports Clearance Officer, 
Room 10-33, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 
20857. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this 
notice.

    Dated: February 22, 2007.
Alexandra Huttinger,
Acting Director, Division of Policy Review and Coordination.
[FR Doc. E7-3446 Filed 2-27-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P