60460 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 189 / Thursday, September 30, 2010 / Notices 

of Health and Human Services, Room 

442–E, 200 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20201, (202) 690–7100. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James Scanlon (202) 690–7100 or 

Marjorie Greenberg (301) 458–4245. 

Additional information about the 

NCVHS, including the charter, current 

roster, current activities and 

organization, and previous 

recommendations and reports is 

available on the NCVHS Web site: http: 

//www.ncvhs.hhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The National Committee on Vital and 

Health Statistics serves as the statutory 

public advisory body to the Department 

of Health and Human Services in the 

area of health data policy. In that 

capacity, the Committee, which 

celebrated its 60th anniversary this year, 

provides advice and assistance to the 

Department on a variety of key health 

data issues, including health data 

standards, privacy, population-baseddata, and national health information 

infrastructure issues. 

The Committee also provides advice 

to HHS on the implementation of the 

Administrative Simplification 

requirements of the Health Insurance 

Portability and Accountability Act of 

1996. The Committee consists of 18 

members: Of the 18 members, one is 

appointed by the Speaker of the House 

of Representatives after consultation 

with the minority leader of the House of 

Representatives; one is appointed by the 

President pro tempore of the Senate 

after consultation with the minority 

leader of the Senate, and 16 are 

appointed by the Secretary of Health 

and Human Services. 

Dated: September 21, 2010. 

Sherry Glied, 

Assistant Secretary for Planning and 

Evaluation. 

[FR Doc. 2010–24597 Filed 9–29–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4151–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention 

[60 Day–10–0765] 

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 404–639–5960 and 

send comments to Maryam I. Daneshvar, 

Ph.D., CDC Reports Clearance Officer, 

1600 Clifton Road, MS–D74, Atlanta, 

GA 30333 or send an e-mail to 

omb@cdc.gov. 

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 

or other forms of information 

technology. Written comments should 

be received within 60 days of this 

notice. 

Proposed Project 

Fellowship Management System 

(OMB No. 0920–0765 exp. 2/28/2011)— 

Revision—Scientific Education and 

Professional Development Program 

Office (SEPDPO), Office of Surveillance, 

Epidemiology and Laboratory Services 

(OSELS), Centers for Disease Control 

and Prevention (CDC). 

Background and Brief Description 

SEPDPO requests an additional three 

years to continue CDC’s use of the 

online Fellowship Management System 

(FMS), and a revision to include two 

additional CDC fellowship applications 

and ten additional CDC fellowship 

directories. FMS allows applicants to 

apply to fellowships online and tracks 

fellowship applicants and alumni in one 

integrated database. 

The mission of the SEPDPO is to 

prepare an applied public health 

workforce through training and service. 

Professionals in public health, 

epidemiology, medicine, economics, 

information science, veterinary 

medicine, nursing, public policy, and 

other related professions seek 

opportunities to broaden their 

knowledge and skills to improve the 

science and practice of public health. 

Each year, CDC’s professional training 

programs accept applications from 

potential candidates for review and 

selection. 

FMS provides an efficient and 

effective way for processing application 

data, selecting qualified candidates, 

maintaining a current alumni database, 

documenting the impact of the 

fellowships on alumni’s careers, and 

generating reports. FMS reduces 

duplicate applicant records as well as 

agency resources to administer and 

process paper records. The application 

process includes the following: 

Submission of responses to the 

questions in the online application; 

submission of academic transcripts and 

letters of recommendation; a review by 

selected programmatic staff and panel 

member experts; selection of qualified 

candidates for interview; interview of 

candidates; and selection of trainees for 

the fellowship programs. 

The online application questions ask 

for academic history, professional 

experience, names of references, and 

description of professional goals. The 

application questions and data collected 

are necessary to the application process 

to determine programmatic eligibility 

and to ensure that the most highly 

qualified candidates are chosen for the 

training programs. The alumni directory 

will allow CDC to maintain a current, 

centralized electronic database. 

Questions such as updates to e-mail 

addresses and other contact 

information, professional 

responsibilities, medical certifications, 

qualifications, and scientific skills are 

asked of alumni. This information is 

collected in the event it becomes 

necessary to contact alumni possessing 

mission-critical skills to meet a national 

public health emergency or an urgent 

public health need. Alumni data will 

also be used by CDC to document the 

impact of the fellowships on the career 

paths of participants, and thus, on the 

science and practice of public health, 

and by the alumni for maintaining their 

professional networks for finding jobs, 

staffing jobs, collaborating, and 

interacting with their fellow alumni. 

Alumni will have two options for the 

level of information they wish to be 

visible to other alumni of their 

fellowship. They will have the option of 

displaying only their name, fellowship 

year, and professional information or all 

of their information. The default is to 

display only their name, fellowship 

year, and professional information. This 

information is already in the public 

domain. 

The annual burden table has been 

updated to reflect an increase in the 

number of fellowships participating in 

FMS. There is no cost to the 

respondents other than their time. 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES6

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 189 / Thursday, September 30, 2010 / Notices 60461 

ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOURS

Type of 

respondents 

Number of 

respondents 

Number of 

responses per 

respondent 

Average burden response 

(in hours) 

Total 

burden 

(in 

hours) 

Fellowship applicants .................................................................................................... 1122 1 40/60 748 

Fellowship alumni .......................................................................................................... 454 1 15/60 114 

Total ............................................................................................................................... 1576 ........................ ........................ 862 

Dated: September 23, 2010. 

Maryam I. Daneshvar, 

Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention. 

[FR Doc. 2010–24479 Filed 9–29–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4163–18–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research 

and Quality, HHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

intention of the Agency for Healthcare 

Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request 

that the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) approve the proposed 

information collection project: 

‘‘Reduction of Clostridium difficile 

Infections in a Regional Collaborative of 

Inpatient Healthcare Settings through 

Implementation of Antimicrobial 

Stewardship.’’ In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 

3501–3520, AHRQ invites the public to 

comment on this proposed information 

collection. 

This proposed information collection 

was previously published in the Federal 

Register on July 23, 2010 and allowed 

60 days for public comment. No 

comments were received. The purpose 

of this notice is to allow an additional 

30 days for public comment. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by November 1, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be submitted to: AHRQ’s OMB Desk 

Officer by fax at (202) 395–6974 

(attention: AHRQ’s desk officer) or by email at OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov 

(attention: AHRQ’s desk officer). 

Copies of the proposed collection 

plans, data collection instruments, and 

specific details on the estimated burden 

can be obtained from the AHRQ Reports 

Clearance Officer. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports 

Clearance Officer, (301) 427–1477, or by 

e-mail at 

doris.lefkowitz@AHRQ.hhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Proposed Project 

Reduction of Clostridium Difficile 

Infections in a Regional Collaborative of 

Inpatient Healthcare Settings Through 

Implementation of Antimicrobial 

Stewardship 

Healthcare Acquired Infections (HAIs) 

caused almost 100,000 deaths among 

the 2.1 million people who acquired 

infections while hospitalized in 2000, 

and HAI rates have risen relentlessly 

since then. Alarmingly, 70% of HAIs are 

due to bacteria that are resistant to 

commonly used antibiotics (Huang 

2007). This project is designed to 

evaluate the implementation of a 

program to reduce Clostridium difficile 

Infection (CDI) in acute care facilities 

via Antimicrobial Stewardship 

Programs (ASPs). Working with an 

already existing collaborative network 

of acute care facilities in New York that 

currently collect and report mandatory 

data on CDI rates and practice strict 

environmental controls, this project will 

go beyond environmental strategies in 

order to attempt to reduce rates of CDI. 

ASPs seek to promote the appropriate 

use of antimicrobials via several 

methods including selecting the 

appropriate dose, duration and route of 

administration of antibiotics. Using 

antibiotics appropriately can potentially 

improve efficacy, reduce costs, and keep 

drug-related adverse events to a 

minimum. The project is a partnership 

with Boston University School of Public 

Health (BUSPH), Montefiore Medical 

Center (MMC), and Greater New York 

Hospital Association (GNYHA). 

The overall aims of the research are to 

evaluate the implementation of ASPs 

specific to CDI at 11 participating 

hospitals (6 intervention sites and 5 

control sites) and to create a draft ASP 

Toolkit. More specifically, the pilot 

study has been designed to provide 

information to meet the following 

objectives: 

1. Identify the antimicrobial 

stewardship activities, both currently in 

place and those yet to be identified, 

specific to each site’s individual needs, 

to optimize antimicrobial prescribing 

practices to reduce CDI. 

2. Assess prescriber perceptions 

related to ASP. 

3. Assess barriers and facilitators to 

ASP implementation. 

4. Develop a draft ASP Toolkit to help 

hospitals optimize their antimicrobial 

prescribing practices to reduce CDI. 

New York (NY) State currently 

requires ongoing reporting of C-difficile 

data for both clinical and surveillance 

purposes. As part of an arrangement 

with NY State, the Greater New York 

Hospital Association (GNYHA) also 

collects and analyzes these data through 

their CDI collaborative. These data 

include tracking baseline rates of CDI, 

including pharmacy data, data related to 

rates of CDI, patient outcomes, and data 

about infection control practices (such 

as hand-washing and other 

environmental controls to prevent 

spread of infection). The data are 

collected on standardized forms that are 

required by both the state and the 

Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC). The data collected at 

these participating hospitals are also 

collected at multiple hospitals 

nationwide as part of routine patient 

care and quality. In addition to new data 

collections initiated specifically for this 

project, this routine and ongoing 

mandatory data collection will serve as 

the project’s knowledge base to allow 

the assessment of ASP programs. 

From the GNYHA data, a three-month 

sample from the participating hospitals 

will be analyzed by Montefiore Medical 

Center (MMC) and GNYHA to obtain 

baseline information. This data will 

enable a comparison of the rates of CDI 

before and after the implementation of 

an ASP. The ASP will be implemented 

at 6 hospitals (intervention sites), while 

5 other hospitals will serve as control 

sites and continue with their current 

practices, including conducting general 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES6