[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 197 (Friday, October 10, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53008-53009]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-26983]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[INFO-98-01]


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 for opportunity for public comment on 
proposed data collection projects, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed 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 Wilma Johnson, CDC 
Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D24, Atlanta, GA 
30333. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this 
notice.

Proposed Projects

    1. The National Home and Hospice Care Survey (NHHCS)--(0920-0298)--
Revision--The National Home and Hospice Care survey (NHHCS) was 
conducted in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, and 1997. 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.'' NHHCS data are used to examine this most 
rapidly expanding sector of the health care industry. Data from the 
NHHCS are used widely 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 Professionals, 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. NHHCS data cover: 
baseline data on the characteristics of hospices and home health 
agencies in relation to their patients and staff, Medicare and Medicaid 
certification, costs to patients, sources of payment, patients' 
functional status and diagnoses. Data collection is planned for the 
period July-November, 1998. Survey design is in process now. Sample 
selection and preparation of layout forms will precede the data 
collection by several months. The total costs to respondents is 
estimated at $194,000.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                         Average                
                                                            Number of     Number of      burden/    Total burden
                       Respondents                         respondents   responses/     response      (in hrs.) 
                                                                         respondents    (in hrs.)               
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agency Questionnaire....................................          1350             1         0.333           450
Current Patient Sampling List...........................          1350             1         0.333           450
Current Patient Questionnaire...........................          1350             6          0.25          2025
Discharged Patient Sampling List........................          1350             1          0.50           675
Discharged Patient Questionnaire........................          1350             6          0.25          2025
                                                                                                   -------------
    Total...............................................  ............  ............  ............          5625
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. Provider Survey of Partner Notification and Partner Management 
Practices following Diagnosis of a Sexually-Transmitted Disease--New--
The National Center for HIV, STD, and TB prevention, Division of STD 
Prevention, CDC is proposing to conduct a national survey of 
physician's partner management practices following the diagnosis of a 
sexually-transmitted disease. Partner notification, a technique for 
controlling the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases is one of the 
five key elements of a long standing public health strategy to control 
sexually-transmitted infections in the U.S. At present, there is very 
little knowledge about partner notification

[[Page 53009]]

practices outside public health settings despite the fact that most STD 
cases are seen in private health care settings. No descriptive data 
currently exist that allow the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention to characterize partner notification practices among the 
broad range of clinical practice settings where STDs are diagnosed, 
including acute or urgent care, emergency room, or primary and 
ambulatory care clinics. The existing literature contains descriptive 
studies of partner notification in public health clinics, but no 
baseline data exist as to the practices of different physician 
specialties across different practice settings.
    The CDC proposes to fill that gap through a national sample survey 
of 7300 office managers and physicians who treat patients with STDs in 
a wide variety of clinical settings; a 70% completion rate is 
anticipated (n=5110 surveys). This survey will provide the baseline 
data necessary to characterize infection control practices, especially 
partner notification practices, for syphilis, gonorrhea, HIV, and 
chlamydia and the contextual factors that influence those practices. 
Findings from the proposed national survey of office managers and 
physicians will assist CDC to better focus STD control and partner 
notification program efforts and to allocate program resources 
appropriately. Without this information, CDC will have little 
information about STD treatment, reporting, and partner management 
services provided by physicians practicing in the U.S. With changes 
underway in the manner in which medical care is delivered and the move 
toward managed care, clinical functions typically provided in the 
public health sector will now be required of private medical providers. 
At present, CDC does not have sufficient information to guide future 
STD control efforts in the private medical sector.
    Data collection will involve a mail survey of practicing 
physicians. The questionnaire mailing will be followed by a reminder 
postcard after one week, a second mailing to non-respondents at three 
weeks, telephone follow-up with non-respondents at five weeks, and a 
final certified mailing of the survey to non-respondents at eight 
weeks. A study specific computerized tracking and reporting system will 
monitor all phases of the study. Receipt of the completed questionnaire 
or a refusal will be logged into this computerized control system to 
ensure that respondents who return the survey are not contacted with 
reminders.
    Estimated cost to respondents and government based on an average 
pay rate of $25/hour, the estimated total cost burden for office 
managers to answer Section 1 is $10,650. Based on an average pay rate 
of $70/hour, the estimated cost burden for physicians is $94,640. Thus 
the total cost burden for the data collection effort is estimated to be 
$105,290.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                         Average                
                                                            Number of     Number of      burden/    Total burden
                Respondents                   Sections     respondents   responses/     response      (in hrs.) 
                                                                         respondent     (in hrs.)               
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office Managers...........................     Section 1          7300             1           .08           584
Physicians................................  Sections 2-4          5110             3           .03           460
Physicians................................  Section 5-10          5110             6           .20          6132
                                                                                                   -------------
    Total.................................  ............  ............  ............  ............          7176
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Dated: October 6, 1997.
Wilma G. Johnson,
Acting Associate Director for Policy Planning And Evaluation, Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 97-26983 Filed 10-9-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P