2019-17708. Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Guidance for Industry on Dear Health Care Provider Letters: Improving Communication of Important Safety Information

AGENCY:

Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the Agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Federal Agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on the information collection associated with Agency guidance entitled “Dear Health Care Provider Letters: Improving Communication of Important Safety Information.” The guidance offers specific recommendations to industry on the content and format of Dear Health Care Provider (DHCP) letters. These letters are sent by manufacturers or distributors to health care providers to communicate an important drug warning, a change in prescribing information, or a correction of misinformation in prescription drug promotional labeling or advertising. This guidance provides recommendations on when to use a DHCP letter, the types of information to include in the DHCP letter, how to organize the information so that it is communicated effectively to health care providers, and formatting techniques to make the information more accessible.

DATES:

Submit either electronic or written comments on the collection of information by October 18, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments as follows. Please note that late, untimely filed comments will not be considered. Electronic comments must be submitted on or before October 18, 2019. The https://www.regulations.gov electronic filing system will accept comments until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time at the end of October 18, 2019. Comments received by mail/hand delivery/courier (for written/paper submissions) will be considered timely if they are postmarked or the delivery service acceptance receipt is on or before that date.

Electronic Submissions

Submit electronic comments in the following way:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted electronically, including attachments, to https://www.regulations.gov will be posted to the docket unchanged. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for ensuring that your comment does not include any confidential information that you or a third party may not wish to be posted, such as medical information, your or anyone else's Social Security number, or confidential business information, such as a manufacturing process. Please note that if you include your name, contact information, or other information that identifies you in the body of your comments, that information will be posted on https://www.regulations.gov.
• If you want to submit a comment with confidential information that you do not wish to be made available to the public, submit the comment as a written/paper submission and in the manner detailed (see “Written/Paper Submissions” and “Instructions”).

Written/Paper Submissions

Submit written/paper submissions as follows:

• Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier (for written/paper submissions): Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
• For written/paper comments submitted to the Dockets Management Staff, FDA will post your comment, as well as any attachments, except for information submitted, marked and identified, as confidential, if submitted as detailed in “Instructions.”

Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. FDA-2010-D-0319 for “Guidance for Industry on Dear Health Care Provider Letters: Improving Communication of Important Safety Information.” Received comments, those filed in a timely manner (see ADDRESSES), will be placed in the docket and, except for those submitted as “Confidential Submissions,” publicly viewable at https://www.regulations.gov or at the Dockets Management Staff between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

• Confidential Submissions—To submit a comment with confidential information that you do not wish to be made publicly available, submit your comments only as a written/paper submission. You should submit two copies total. One copy will include the information you claim to be confidential with a heading or cover note that states “THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.” The Agency will review this copy, including the claimed confidential information, in its consideration of comments. The second copy, which will have the claimed confidential information redacted/blacked out, will be available for public viewing and posted on https://www.regulations.gov. Submit both copies to the Dockets Management Staff. If you do not wish your name and contact information to be made publicly available, you can provide this information on the cover sheet and not in the body of your comments and you must identify this information as “confidential.” Any information marked as “confidential” will not be disclosed except in accordance with 21 CFR 10.20 and other applicable disclosure law. For more information about FDA's posting of comments to public dockets, see 80 FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or access the information at: https://www.gpo.gov/​fdsys/​pkg/​FR-2015-09-18/​pdf/​2015-23389.pdf.

Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or the electronic and written/paper comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov and insert the docket number, found in brackets in the heading of this document, into the “Search” box and follow the prompts and/or go to the Dockets Management Staff, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Domini Bean, Office of Operations, Food and Drug Administration, Three White Flint North, 10A-12M, 11601 Landsdown St., North Bethesda, MD 20852, 301-796-5733, [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal Agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. “Collection of information” is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and includes Agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) requires Federal Agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, FDA is publishing notice of the proposed collection of information set forth in this document.

With respect to the following collection of information, FDA invites comments on these topics: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of FDA's functions, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of FDA's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques, when appropriate, and other forms of information technology.

Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Guidance for Industry on Dear Health Care Provider Letters: Improving Communication of Important Safety Information

OMB Control Number 0910-0754—Extension

This information collection supports recommendations found in the Agency guidance document entitled, “Dear Health Care Provider Letters: Improving Communication of Important Safety Information.” The guidance provides instruction to industry and FDA staff on the content and format of DHCP letters. These letters are sent by manufacturers or distributors to health care providers to communicate an important drug warning, a change in prescribing information, or a correction of misinformation in prescription drug promotional labeling or advertising.

This guidance gives specific instruction on what should and should not be included in DHCP letters. Some DHCP letters have been too long, have contained promotional material, or otherwise have not met the goals set forth in the applicable regulation (21 CFR 200.5). In some cases, health care providers have not been aware of important new information, and have been unable to communicate it to patients, because the letters' content and length have made it difficult to find the relevant information. In addition, letters have sometimes been sent for the wrong reasons.

In addition to content and format recommendations for each type of DHCP letter, the guidance also includes recommendations on consulting with FDA on how to develop a DHCP letter, when to send a letter, what type of letter to send, and how to assess the letter's impact. Based on a review of FDA's Document Archiving, Reporting, and Regulatory Tracking System for 2016-2018, we identified 38 DHCP letters that were sent out by 24 distinct sponsors during the 3-year timeframe. We estimate that we will receive approximately 13 DHCP letters annually from approximately 8 application holders. FDA professionals familiar with DHCP letters and with the recommendations in the guidance estimate that it should take an application holder approximately 100 hours to prepare and send DHCP letters in accordance with the guidance.

We estimate the annual reporting burden of this collection of information as follows:

Table 1—Estimated Annual Reporting Burden ¹

Type of activity	Number of respondents	Number of responses per respondent	Total annual responses	Average burden per response	Total hours
Dear Health Care Provider Letters	8	1.625	13	100	1,300
1 There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this collection of information.

Based on a review of the information collection, we have reduced our burden estimate by 17 respondents with a corresponding decrease in annual hours by 1,200. We attribute the decrease to the effectiveness of the guidance.

Dated: August 12, 2019.

Lowell J. Schiller,

Principal Associate Commissioner for Policy.