Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 145 / Tuesday, July 29, 1997 / Notices 40533

risk due to recent changes in health care

delivery and financing? If so, how are

academic health centers addressing

these?

What Federal policy changes, if any,

are needed to assist academic health

centers in providing quality health

services to vulnerable and under served

populations?

How are the special services (e.g.,

burn units, trauma Centers, organ

transplantation programs, etc.) that are

frequently, if not primarily, performed

at academic health centers being

affected by the changing health care

environment? If these special services

are being adversely affected, how are

academic health centers addressing

this? Can/should Federal policy assist

these institutions?

Access to Capital

What are the capital needs of

academic health centers? Do academic

health centers have access to adequate

capital resources to support the

education, research and service mission

of academic health centers?

Are the Federal policies that influence

access to capital resources appropriate?

If not, what Federal policy changes are

needed to facilitate academic health

centers’ access to capital?

DHHS Initiative on Academic Health

Centers

Description of Academic Health Centers

Academic health centers are major

complexes comprised of a school of

medicine, at least one other health

professions school (nursing, dentistry,

allied health, public health, pharmacy,

etc.) and one or more teaching hospitals.

There are over 100 academic health

centers in the United States, more than

75 percent having three or more health

professions schools. These centers may

be components of private or public

universities or State university systems,

or they can be freestanding institutions.

Mission of Academic Health Centers

Academic health centers are an

integral part of the American health care

system. These centers produce valuable

public goods for the country, including

40 percent of the health research and

development and thirty three percent of

the highly specialized, complex care for

patients with major trauma as injuries or

burns, AIDS, and other intensive care.

They are a principal resource for the

training and education of the future

health care professional workforce.

Academic health centers—especially

publicly owned ones—provide over one

third of the nation’s uncompensated

(charity and bad debt) health care.

Challenges Facing Academic Health

Centers

Many changes in the evolving health

care environment, including the rapid

expansion of managed care, are posing

a number of serious challenges for these

centers and the health professions

workforce. These challenges include

fiscal survival and stability in a

competitive health care marketplace,

diminished subsides for the academic

mission in research and education,

urgent demand to develop a strong

capacity in primary (general) care and

training of future health professionals in

ambulatory (non-hospital) settings,

information technology needs that are

quite expensive, and external pressures

for increased accountability as a public

goods resource.

Stakeholder of Academic Health

Centers

Academic health centers are linked to

a variety of entities such as universities,

local-State-Federal government

agencies, managed care organizations,

health insurance industry,

pharmaceutical companies,

telecommunications companies and the

general business community, among

many others. Moreover, these centers

are closely tied to the health and

economy of the communities they serve.

Federal Government Partnership

DHHS oversees numerous programs

that directly or indirectly provide

financial, physical, human, and

technical resources to the academic

health center enterprise. These

resources support graduate medical

education and other health professions

training and education, biomedical and

other health research, institutional and

student loan programs, and services to

Medicare and Medicaid participants.

The Veteran’s Administration and the

Department of Defense are additional

components of the Federal government

than help support academic health

centers.

DHHS Initiative

This initiative was established to

update and develop relevant policy at

the Federal level that can ensure the

academic health centers’ capacity to

achieve their public good mission in a

new, evolving health care system. DHHS

Secretary Shalala has appointed Dr. Ciro

Sumaya, Deputy Assistant Secretary for

Health, to lead an interagency policy

development task force focusing on the

future of the centers. The task force will

also work with the Departments of

Veterans Affairs and Defense, State

governments, the academic community,

and other public and private sectors

partners in this process.

Recommendations on policy options

and actions are to be submitted to the

Secretary by the end of September 1997.

The recommendations will address the

current development of the health

professions work force as well as

financial, research, and service

infrastructure issues facing academic

health centers.

Dated: July 23, 1997.

John M. Eisenberg,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Health.

[FR Doc. 97–19982 Filed 7–25–97; 12:24 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–17–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Notice of Meeting

AGENCY: Office of Disease Prevention

and Health Promotion, HHS.

ACTION: Commission of dietary

supplement labels: notice of meeting #9.

SUMMARY: The Department of Health and

Human Services (HHS) is providing

notice of the ninth meeting of the

Commission on dietary supplement

labels.

DATES: The Commission intends to hold

its meeting on August 14, 1997, from

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on August 15,

1997, from 8:30 a.m. to approximately

3:00 p.m., E.S.T., at the Hyatt Regency

Reston, Reston Town Center, 1800

Presidents Street, Reston, Virginia

20190. The meeting is open to the

public; seating is limited.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kenneth D. Fisher, Ph. D., Executive

Director, Commission on Dietary

Supplement Labels, Office of Disease

Prevention and Health Promotion, Room

738G, Hubert H. Humphrey Building,

200 Independence Ave. S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20201, (202) 690–

7102.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pub. L.

103–417, Section 12, authorized the

establishment of a Commission on

Dietary Supplement Labels whose seven

members have been appointed by the

President. The appointments to the

Commission by the President and the

establishment of the Commission by the

Secretary of Health and Human Services

reflect the commitment of the President

and the Secretary to the development of

a sound and consistent regulatory policy

on labeling of dietary supplements.

The Commission is charged with

conducting a study and providing

recommendations for regulation of label

claims and statements for dietary

supplements, including the use of
40534 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 145 / Tuesday, July 29, 1997 / Notices

supplemental literature in connection

with their sale and, in addition,

procedures for evaluation of label

claims. The Commission is evaluating

how best to provide truthful,

scientifically valid, and non-misleading

information to consumers in order that

they may make informed health care

choices for themselves and their

families. The Commission’s study report

may include recommendations on

legislation, if appropriate and necessary.

The Commission made a draft of its

report available for public comment on

June 24, 1997. The purpose of meeting

#9 is to review comments and

information received from the public

and to discuss preparation of the

Commission’s final report.

The Commission meeting agenda will

include approval of minutes of the

previous meeting, review of comments

and information submitted by the

public, and discussion of possible

revisions of the draft report and

procedures for final report completion.

The open meeting may be recessed for

short time periods on Thursday

afternoon, August 14, 1997, and on

Friday morning, August 15, 1997, at the

call of the Chair, to allow members of

the Commission to redraft portions of

the report. Following such recesses, if

any, the revisions will be presented to

the full Commission in its open

meeting.

The meeting is open to the public,

however seating is limited. If you will

require a sign language interpreter,

please call Sandra Saunders (202) 690–

7102 by 4:30 p.m. E.S.T. on August 4,

1997.

Dated: July 17, 1997.

Susanne A. Stoiber,

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health,

(Disease Prevention and Health Promotion),

U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services.

[FR Doc. 97–19909 Filed 7–28–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–17–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention

[30DAY–16–97]

Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork

Reduction Act Review

The Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) publishes a list of

information collection requests under

review by the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) in compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.

Chapter 35). To request a copy of these

requests, call the CDC Reports Clearance

Office on (404) 639–7090. Send written

comments to CDC, Desk Officer; Human

Resources and Housing Branch, New

Executive Office Building, Room 10235;

Washington, DC 20503. Written

comments should be received within 7

days of this notice.

Proposed Project

1. The National Home and Hospice

Care Mail Survey (NHHCMS)—(0920–

0298)—Revision—The National Center

for Health Statistics (NCHS) is

requesting an emergency review and

clearance of the above named data

collection in 1997. The use of the

regular clearance process for this survey

would preclude collection of home

health care data in 1997, thereby

disrupting the provisions of annual

trend data for this dynamic sector in the

health care delivery system. A decision

regarding this request is needed by

August 8, 1997. The National Home and

Hospice Care Survey was conducted in

1992, 1993, 1994 and 1996. It is part of

the Long-Term Care component of the

National Health Care Survey. Section

306 of the Public Health Service Act

states that the National Center for

Health Statistics ‘‘shall collect statistics

on health resources * * * (and)

utilization of health care, including

utilization of * * * services of

hospitals, extended care facilities, home

health agencies, and other institutions.’’

NCHS data are used to examine this

most rapidly expanding sector of the

health care industry. Data from the

NHHCS are widely used by the health

care industry and policy makers for

such diverse analyses as the need for

various medical supplies; minority

access to health care; and planning for

the health care needs of the elderly. The

NHHCS also reveals detailed

information on utilization patterns, as

needed to make accurate assessments of

the need for and costs associated with

such care. Data from earlier NHHCS

collections have been used by the

Congressional Budget Office, the Bureau

of Health Professions, the Maryland

Health Resources Planning Commission,

the National Association for Home Care,

and by several newspapers and journals.

Additional uses are expected to be

similar to the uses of the National

Nursing Home Survey. The mail survey

version is an abbreviated form used to

collect basic trend data in years in

which the full NHHCS is not in the

field. NHHCMS data cover: baseline

data on the characteristics of home

health agencies and hospices including

number of patients served, ownership,

Medicare and Medicaid certification,

and services provided. Data collection is

planned for the period October 1997–

January 1998. Survey design is in

process now. The total annual burden

hours are 200.

Respondents Number of

respondents

Number of

responses/

respondent

Average

burden/response (in

hours)

Hospices and Home Health Care Agencies ............................................................................................ 1,200 1 0.166