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 Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration
 AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
 ACTION: Notice.
 SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA announces plans to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks comments from the public regarding the burden estimate, below, or any other aspect of the ICR.
 DATES: Comments on this ICR must be received no later than November 13, 2017.
 ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to 
                        *paperwork@hrsa.gov*
                         or mail to the HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, 14N39, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857.
 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and draft instruments, email 
                        *paperwork@hrsa.gov*
                         or call the HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at (301) 443-1984.


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting information, please include the information request collection title for reference, in compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. *Information Collection Request Title:*
                     National Practitioner Data Bank for Adverse Information on Physicians and Other Health Care Practitioners—45 CFR part 60 Regulations and Forms, OMB No. 0915-0126—Revision. *Abstract:*
                     This is a request for a revision of OMB approval of the information collection contained in regulations found at 45 CFR part 60 governing the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) and the forms to be used in registering with, reporting information to, and requesting information from the NPDB. Administrative forms are also included to aid in monitoring compliance with Federal reporting and querying requirements. Responsibility for NPDB implementation and operation resides in HRSA's Bureau of Health Workforce. The intent of the NPDB 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 health care practitioners, providers, or suppliers to move from State to State without disclosure of previous damaging or incompetent performance. It also serves as a fraud and abuse clearinghouse for the reporting and disclosing of certain final adverse actions (excluding settlements in which no findings of liability have been made) taken against health care practitioners, providers, or suppliers by health plans, Federal agencies, and State agencies. The reporting forms, request for information forms (query forms), and administrative forms (used to monitor compliance) are accessed, completed, and submitted to the NPDB 
                    ( print page 42822)
                    electronically through the NPDB Web site at 
                    *https://www.npdb.hrsa.gov/​.*
                     All reporting and querying is performed through the secure portal of this Web site. This revision proposes changes to eliminate redundant and unnecessary forms, improve user error recovery, and improve overall data integrity. There is no change to the average burden per response. The total estimated number of respondents has increased from 5 million in 2015 to over 6 million in 2017, primarily attributable to increases in use of the “One-Time Query for an Individual” and “Continuous Query” forms. The increase in total respondents has resulted in an estimated increase of approximately 47,000 total burden hours. *Need and Proposed Use of the Information:*
                     The NPDB acts primarily as a flagging system; its principal purpose is to facilitate comprehensive review of practitioners' professional credentials and background. Information is collected from, and disseminated to, eligible entities (entities that are entitled to query and/or report to the NPDB as authorized in Title 45 CFR part 60 of the Code of Federal Regulations) on the following: (1) Medical malpractice payments, (2) licensure actions taken by Boards of Medical Examiners, (3) State licensure and certification actions, (4) Federal licensure and certification actions, (5) negative actions or findings taken by peer review organizations or private accreditation entities, (6) adverse actions taken against clinical privileges, (7) Federal or State criminal convictions related to the delivery of a health care item or service, (8) civil judgments related to the delivery of a health care item or service, (9) exclusions from participation in Federal or State health care programs, and (10) other adjudicated actions or decisions. It is intended that NPDB information should be considered with other relevant information in evaluating credentials of health care practitioners, providers, and suppliers. *Likely Respondents:*
                     Eligible entities or individuals that are entitled to query and/or report to the NPDB as authorized in regulations found at 45 CFR part 60. *Burden Statement:*
                     Burden in this context means the time expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide the information requested. This includes the time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for this ICR are summarized in the table below. Total Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
Form name
Number of 
                             respondents
Number of 
                             responses per  
                             respondent
Total 
                             responses
Average burden 
                             per response  
                             (in hours)
Total burden 
                             hours 
                             (rounded up)Accreditation
10
1
10
.75
8Civil Judgment
10
1
10
.75
8Criminal Conviction (Guilty Plea or Trial) (manual)
1,140
1
1,140
.75
855Criminal Conviction (Guilty Plea or Trial) (automated)
688
1
688
.0003
1DEA/Federal Licensure
698
1
698
.75
524Deferred Conviction or Pre-Trial Diversion
54
1
54
.75
41Exclusion/Debarment (manual)
1,624
1
1,624
.75
1,218Exclusion/Debarment (automated)
3,180
1
3,180
.0003
1Government Administrative
2,062
1
2,062
.75
1,547Health Plan Action
335
1
335
.75
252Injunction
10
1
10
.75
8Medical Malpractice Payment (manual)
11,993
1
11,993
.75
8,995Medical Malpractice Payment (automated)
242
1
242
.0003
1Nolo Contendere (No Contest) Plea
85
1
85
.75
64Peer Review Organization
10
1
10
.75
8Professional Society
49
1
49
.75
37State Licensure (manual)
19,160
1
19,160
.75
14,370State Licensure (automated)
25,980
1
25,980
.0003
8Title IV Clinical Privileges Actions
698
1
698
.75
524Correction, Revision to Action, Correction of Revision to Action, Void, Notice of Appeal (manual)
11,114
1
11,114
.25
2,779Correction, Revision to Action, Correction of Revision to Action, Void, Notice of Appeal (automated)
17,966
1
17,966
.0003
6One-Time Query for an Individual (manual)
2,054,381
1
2,054,381
.08
164,351One-Time Query for an Individual (automated)
2,813,341
1
2,813,341
.0003
844One-Time Query for an Organization (manual)
39,695
1
39,695
.08
3,176One-Time Query for an Organization (automated)
10,201
1
10,201
.0003
4Continuous Query (manual)
643,860
1
643,860
.08
51,509Continuous Query (automated)
226,838
1
226,838
.0003
69Self-Query on an Individual
131,481
1
131,481
.42
55,223Self-Query on an Organization
1,545
1
1,545
.42
649Entity Registration (Initial)
1,073
1
1,073
1
1,073Entity Registration (Renewal & Update)
14,060
1
14,060
.25
3,515Agent Registration (Initial)
85
1
85
1
85Agent Registration (Renewal & Update)
278
1
278
.08
23Entity Profile
9,000
1
9,000
.25
2,250Licensing Board Attestation
301
1
301
1
301Licensing Board Data Request
146
1
146
10.5
1,533Reconciling Missing Actions
7,981
1
7,981
0.8
6,385Corrective Action Plan
10
1
10
.08
1( print page 42823)Missing Report Form
29
1
29
.08
3Subject Statement and Dispute
3,547
1
3,547
.75
2,661Request for Dispute Resolution
99
1
99
8
792Electronic Transfer of Funds (EFT) Authorization
654
1
654
.08
53Authorized Agent Designation
213
1
213
.25
54Account Discrepancy
10
1
10
.25
3New Administrator Request
3,016
1
3,016
.08
242Query Credit Purchase
789
1
789
.08
64Educational Request
10
1
10
.08
1Account Balance Transfer
10
1
10
.08
1Total
6,059,761

6,059,761

326,120
 HRSA specifically requests comments on (1) the necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions, (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden, (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and (4) the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden. Amy McNulty, Acting Director, Division of the Executive Secretariat.


[FR Doc. 2017-19252 Filed 9-11-17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4165-15-P