[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 83 (Friday, April 29, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 25431]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09172]


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Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 83 / Friday, April 29, 2022 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 25431]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Chapter I

[NRC-2018-0185]


Use of Electronic Signatures by Medical Licensees on Internal 
Documents

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory issue summary; discontinuation.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is discontinuing the 
publication of draft regulatory issue summary (RIS), ``Use of 
Electronic Signatures by Medical Licensees on Internal Documents,'' 
because the guidance no longer provides useful information as the 
contents are now considered standard practice.

DATES: The effective date for discontinuation of the draft RIS is April 
29, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0185 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0185. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1043647173693e437378657d717e7e507e62733e777f66"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5b082f3a3822750838332e363a35351b352938753c342d">[email protected]</span></a>. For technical 
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this document.
    <bullet> NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS 
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#570713057905322438222534321739253479303821"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bbebffe995e9dec8d4cec9d8defbd5c9d895dcd4cd">[email protected]</span></a>. The ADAMS accession number for each 
document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first 
time that it is mentioned in this document.
    <bullet> NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), 
Room P1 B35, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852. To make an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an 
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#643420364a3601170b11160701240a16074a030b12"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="663622344834031509131405032608140548010910">[email protected]</span></a> or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, 
between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Said Daibes Figueroa, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6863, email: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4d1e2c242963092c242f283e0d233f2e632a223b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f8ab99919cd6bc99919a9d8bb8968a9bd69f978e">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On October 20, 2010, the NRC published a notice in the Federal 
Register (75 FR 64749) requesting public comment on specific issues 
related to the use of electronic signatures in medical licensee 
documents. Many of the commenters supported the view that the NRC 
should be receptive to licensees' use of electronic signatures and 
adopt its use for licensees' internal documents because the use of 
electronic medical records has become standard practice in medical 
facilities. The NRC assessed public comment responses to identify means 
by which medical licensees can use electronic signatures to satisfy 
NRC's signature requirements. The comments are publicly available in 
ADAMS under Accession No. ML21131A034. A draft RIS ``Use of Electronic 
Signatures by Medical Licensees on Internal Documents,'' was developed 
summarizing the findings and published in the Federal Register (83 FR 
44247) on August 30, 2018, seeking public comment. The comments 
received were supportive of the adoption of the use of electronic 
signatures by NRC medical licensees. The comments are publicly 
available through ADAMS Accession Nos. ML21105A813 and ML21105A812.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC is discontinuing the issuance of the draft RIS, ``Use of 
Electronic Signatures by Medical Licensees on Internal Documents,'' 
because the use of electronic signatures within the medical community, 
including electronic signatures that uniquely identify the signed 
individual, provide authentications and non-repudiation, and assure 
data integrity, has become such common practice that the guidance in 
this RIS no longer provides useful information.
    The draft RIS was published in the Federal Register for comment on 
August 30, 2018 (83 FR 44247). The draft RIS described one means by 
which medical licensees can use electronic signatures to satisfy NRC's 
signature requirements on internal records that the NRC requires the 
licensee to maintain. The comments received during the public comment 
period on the draft RIS may be considered by the NRC staff for the 
development of any future related guidance. Should such guidance be 
developed, the NRC will inform the public through a new notice of 
availability of the documents for public comment in the Federal 
Register.
    This notice documents final staff action on docket NRC-2018-0185. 
No further action is expected for this docket.
    As noted in ``Relocation of Regulatory Issue Summary Notices in the 
Federal Register'' (May 8, 2018, 83 FR 20858), this document is being 
published in the Proposed Rules section of the Federal Register to 
comply with publication requirements under chapter I of title 1 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations.

    Dated: April 25, 2022.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christian E. Einberg,
Chief, Medical Safety and Events Assessments Branch, Division of 
Materials Safety, Security, State and Tribal Programs, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2022-09172 Filed 4-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P


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