04-9233. Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes a list of information collection requests under review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of these requests, call the CDC Reports Clearance Officer at [phone]. Send written comments to CDC, Desk Officer, Human Resources and Housing Branch, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503 or by fax to [phone]. Written comments should be received within 30 days of this notice.

Proposed Project: National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) 2005-2006 (OMB No. 0920-0234)—Revision—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). The estimated annualized burden is 5,875 hours.

Respondents	Form name	Number of respondents	Number of responses per respondent	Average burden per response
Physician Eligible	Induction Interview-eligible Physician	2,250	1	35/60
Physician Ineligible	Induction Interview-ineligible Physician	750	1	5/60
Physician/Non-physician Staff	Patient Record Form	2,250	30	4/60

Dated: April 16, 2004.

Bill J. Atkinson,

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