2020-27473. Agency Information Collection Request; 30-Day Public Comment Request

AGENCY:

Office of the Secretary, HHS.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Secretary (OS), Department of Health and Human Services, is announcing it has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance the following collection of information.

DATES:

Comments on the ICR must be received on or before January 14, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments to [e-mail] or via facsimile to [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sherrette Funn, [e-mail] or [phone]. When submitting comments or requesting information, please include the document identifier 0990-New and project title for reference.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In compliance with 44 U.S.C. 3507, OS/DHHS has submitted the following proposed collection of information to OMB for review and clearance.

OMB No. 0990-New—HHS Teletracking COVID-19 Portal

OMB Control Number

Abstract: The data collected through this ICR informs the Federal Government's understanding of disease patterns and furthers the development of policies for prevention and control of disease spread and impact related to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). One of the most important uses of the data collected through this ICR is to determine critical allocations of limited supplies (e.g., protective equipment and medication). For instance, this collection has been used to distribute Remdesivir, a vital therapeutic that HHS distributes to the American healthcare system, via distinct data calls on regular intervals. As of July 10, HHS reduced the number requests for data from hospitals to support allocations of Remdesivir. HHS has stopped sending out one-time requests for data to aid in the distribution of Remdesivir or any other treatments or supplies. This consolidated daily reporting is the only mechanism used for the distribution calculations, and daily reports are needed to ensure accurate calculations.

Type of Respondent: We acknowledge the burden placed on many hospitals, including resource constraints, and have allowed for some flexibilities, such as back-submissions or submitting every business days, with the understanding that respondents may not have sufficient staff working over the weekend. It is our belief that collection of this information daily is the most effective way to detect outbreaks and needs for Federal assistance over time, by hospital and geographical area, and to alert the appropriate officials for action. It's requested that 5,500 hospitals, submit data daily on the number of patients tested for COVID-19, as well as information on bed capacity and requirements for other supplies.

The HHS Teletracking COVID-19 Portal (U.S. Healthcare COVID-19 Portal) includes some data that were initially submitted by hospitals to HHS through CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) COVID-19 Module (OMB Control No. 0920-1290, approved 03/26/2020). Over the last several months time, the guidance for which data elements should be sent to HHS and through which method was updated at the request of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and other leaders to better inform the response.

Estimated Annualized Burden Hours

Number of respondents	Form name (electronic portal)	Number of responses per respondents	Total annual responses	Average burden per response (in hours)	Total burden hours
5500	HHS Teletracking COVID-19 Portal	365	2,007,500	1.75	3,513,125

Terry Clark,

Office of the Secretary, Paperwork Reduction Act Reports Clearance Officer.