03-32164. 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 the CDC Reports Clearance Officer on [phone].

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. Send comments to Anne O'Connor, CDC Assistant Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-E11, Atlanta, GA 30333. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

Proposed Project: National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) 2005-2006 (OMB No. 0920-0234)—Extension—National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) was conducted annually from 1973 to 1981, again in 1985, and resumed as an annual survey in 1989. The survey is directed by CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Health Care Statistics. The purpose of NAMCS is to meet the needs and demands for statistical information about the provision of ambulatory medical care services in the United States. Ambulatory services are rendered in a wide variety of settings, including physicians' offices and hospital outpatient and emergency departments. The NAMCS target population consists of all office visits made by ambulatory patients to non-Federal office-based physicians (excluding those in the specialties of anesthesiology, radiology, and pathology) who are engaged in direct patient care. To complement these data, NCHS initiated the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS, OMB No. 0920-0278) to provide data concerning patient visits to hospital outpatient and emergency departments.

The NAMCS provides a range of baseline data on the characteristics of the users and providers of ambulatory medical care. Data collected include the patients' demographic characteristics, reason(s) for visit, physicians' diagnosis, diagnostic services, medications and visit disposition. In addition to the annual statistics normally collected, a key focus of the 2005-2006 survey will be on the prevention and treatment of selected chronic conditions. These data, together with trend data, may be used to monitor the effects of change in the health care system, provide new insights into ambulatory medical care, and stimulate further research on the use, organization, and delivery of ambulatory care.

Users of NAMCS data include, but are not limited to, congressional and other federal government agencies, state and local governments, medical schools, schools of public health, researchers, administrators, and health planners. NAMCS plans to extend its data collection into 2005 and 2006. To calculate the burden hours the number of respondents for NAMCS is based on a sample of 3,000 physicians with a 50 percent participation rate (this includes physicians who are out-of-scope as well as those who refuse). There is no cost to respondents.

Respondents	Number of respondents	Number of responses/respondent	Average burden/response (in hrs)	Total burden hours
Office-based physicians:
Induction Form	1,500	1	25/60	625
Patient Record Form	1,500	30	5/60	3,750
Total				4,375

Dated: December 19, 2003.

Ron Ergle,

Acting Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.