Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources And Services Administration

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection:

Comment Request

In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public

comment on proposed data collection projects (section 3506(c)(2)(A) of

Title 44, United States Code, as amended by the Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13), the Health Resources and Services

Administration (HRSA) publishes periodic summaries of proposed projects

being developed for submission to OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995. To request more information on the proposed project or to

obtain a copy of the data collection plans and draft instruments, call

the HRSA Reports Clearance Officer on (301) 443-1891.

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.

Proposed Project

Querying the National Practitioner Data Bank--New.

Under the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA),

Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr), the Division of Quality Assurance

(DQA) is planning to conduct a survey to obtain information on the

degree of user satisfaction with the National Practitioner Data Bank's

(NPDB) reporting and querying processes, how users believe these

processes can be improved, and how users perceive the usefulness of

information they obtained from the NPDB for licensing and credentialing

of health care entities, e.g. managed care organizations, State

licensing boards for physicians and dentists, and professional

societies. The study will also identify and survey non-user entities.

The information obtained in this study will be interpreted in relation

to similar information from previous studies conducted by DQA and the

Office of the Inspector General.

The estimated response burden is as follows:

[[Page 59785]]

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Number of Responses per Total Hours per Total burden

Questionnaire version respondents respondent responses response hours

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Reporting:

Hospital.................... 1,031 1 1,031 .2 206.2

Group Practice.............. 210 1 210 .2 42.0

HMOs........................ 161 1 161 .2 32.2

State boards................ 81 1 81 .2 16.2

Malpractice Payers.......... 188 1 188 .2 37.6

Professional Societies...... 67 1 67 .2 13.4

Other....................... 209 1 209 .2 41.8

Querying:

Hospital.................... 770 1 770 .4 308

Group Practice.............. 173 1 173 .4 69.2

HMOs........................ 153 1 153 .4 61.2

State boards................ 74 1 74 .4 29.6

Malpractice Payers.......... (*) .............. .............. .............. ..............

Professional Societies...... 66 1 66 .4 26.4

Other....................... 184 1 184 .4 73.6

Match Response:

Hospital.................... 770 3 2,310 1 2,310

Group Practice.............. 173 3 519 1 519

HMOs........................ 153 3 459 1 459

State boards................ 74 3 222 1 2,222

Malpractice Payers.......... (*) .............. .............. .............. ..............

Professional Societies...... 66 3 198 1 198

Other....................... 184 3 552 1 552

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Total................... .............. .............. .............. .............. 5,217.4

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* Cannot query the NPDB; thus these entities do not receive query or match response questionnaires.

Send comments to Susan G. Queen, Ph.D., HRSA Reports Clearance

Officer, Room 14-33, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville,

Maryland 20857. Written comments should be received within 60 days of

this notice.

Dated: October 28, 1999.

Claude Earl Fox,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 99-28705 Filed 11-2-99; 8:45 am]

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