2019-16964. Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

AGENCY:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION:

Notice with comment period.

SUMMARY:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the utility of government information, invites the general public and other Federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a proposed and/or continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project titled National Electronic Health Records Survey (NEHRS) which will collect data on office-based physicians' adoption and use of electronic health record (EHR) systems, practice information, patient engagement, controlled substances prescribing practices, use of health information exchange, and documentation and burden associated with medical record systems.

DATES:

CDC must receive written comments on or before October 7, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2019-0061 by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, of the Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.

Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and Docket Number. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments to Regulations.gov.

Please note: Submit all comments through the Federal eRulemaking portal (regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the address listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan and instruments, contact Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone: [phone]; Email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (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. In addition, the PRA also requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information collection before submitting the collection to the OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a proposed data collection as described below.

The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:

1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;

2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and

4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submissions of responses.

5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

National Electronic Health Records Survey (NEHRS) (OMB Control No. 0920-1015, Exp. 7/31/2020)—Revision—National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Background and Brief Description

NEHRS is a national survey of office-based physicians conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NEHRS is sponsored by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The survey is conducted under authority of Section 306 of the Public Health Service Act (41 U.S.C. 242k). NEHRS data collection years are for 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The purpose of this study is to collect information on office-based physicians' adoption and use of electronic health record (EHR) systems, practice information, patient engagement, controlled substances prescribing practices, use of health information exchange, and documentation and burden associated with medical record systems. The respondents are a sample of office-based physicians. The data collection is done directly through a self-administered web questionnaire, self-administered paper questionnaire or computer-assisted telephone interview. NEHRS collects information on characteristics of U.S. office-based physicians practicing ambulatory medical care, including specific focus on EHR adoption and use. Having data that can identify a physician office's ability to perform specific computerized tasks helps track the adoption and use of new health information technologies across various physician and practice characteristics (e.g., specialty, office type, and ownership) over time. These annual 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.

Data from NEHRS has been used by researchers in reports and programs such as Health, United States and Healthy People 2020, in addition to various other reports and research across federal, public, and international communities. The results of the data will help provide more information about the use and adoption of EHRs by office-based physicians both nationally and by state. CDC requests approval for 5,151 annual burden hours. There are no costs to respondents other than their time.

Estimated Annualized Burden Hours

Type of Respondents	Form name	Number of respondents	Number of responses per respondent	Average burden per response (in hours)	Total burden (in hours)
Office-based Physicians or office staff	NEHRS	10,302	1	30/60	5,151
Total					5,151

Jeffrey M. Zirger,

Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific Integrity, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.