[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 213 (Monday, November 4, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59387-59389]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24003]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[60Day-20-0728; Docket No. CDC-2019-0096]
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.
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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 ``The National Notifiable
Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS).'' The NNDSS is the nation's
public health surveillance system that monitors the occurrence and
spread of diseases and conditions that are nationally notifiable or
under standard surveillance.
DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before January 3, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2019-
0096 by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, 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: 404-639-7570; Email:
[email protected].
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 Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS)--
Revision--Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services
(CSELS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
The Public Health Services Act (42 U.S.C. 241) authorizes CDC to
disseminate nationally notifiable condition information. The National
Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) is based on data
collected at the state, territorial and local levels as a result of
legislation and regulations in those jurisdictions that require health
care providers, medical laboratories, and other entities to submit
health-related data on reportable conditions to public health
departments. These reportable conditions, which include infectious and
non-infectious diseases, vary by jurisdiction depending upon each
jurisdiction's health priorities and needs. Each year, the Council of
State and Territorial Disease Epidemiologists (CSTE), supported by CDC,
determines which reportable conditions should be designated nationally
notifiable or under standardized surveillance.
CDC requests a three-year approval for a Revision to the NNDSS (OMB
Control No. 0920-0728, Expiration Date 04/30/2022). This Revision
includes requests for approval to: (1) Receive case notification data
for Blastomycosis which is now under standardized surveillance; and (2)
receive disease-specific data elements for Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Poisoning, Congenital Syphilis, and Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD,
not congenital).
The NNDSS currently facilitates the submission and aggregation of
case notification data voluntarily submitted to CDC from 60
jurisdictions: Public health departments in every U.S. state,
[[Page 59388]]
New York City, Washington DC, five U.S. territories (American Samoa,
the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and
the U.S. Virgin Islands), and three freely associated states (Federated
States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the
Republic of Palau). This information is shared across jurisdictional
boundaries and both surveillance and prevention and control activities
are coordinated at regional and national levels.
Approximately 90% of case notifications are encrypted and submitted
to NNDSS electronically from already existing databases by automated
electronic messages. When automated transmission is not possible, case
notifications are faxed, emailed, uploaded to a secure network or
entered into a secure website. All case notifications that are faxed,
emailed, and uploaded are done so in the form of an aggregate weekly or
annual report, not individual cases. These different mechanisms used to
send case notifications to CDC vary by the jurisdiction and the disease
or condition. Private personally identifiable information (PII) is
collected from automated electronic messages and information can be
retrieved by PII. In addition, some combinations of submitted data
elements could potentially be used to identify individuals. Private
information is not to be disclosed unless otherwise compelled by law.
All data are treated in a secure manner consistent with the technical,
administrative, and operational controls required by the Federal
Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) and the 2010
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Recommended
Security Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations.
Weekly tables of nationally notifiable diseases are available through
CDC WONDER and data.cdc.gov. Annual summaries of finalized nationally
notifiable disease data are published on CDC WONDER and data.cdc.gov
and disease-specific data are published by individual CDC programs.
The burden estimates include the number of hours that the public
health department uses to process and send case notification data from
their jurisdiction to CDC. Specifically, the burden estimates include
separate burden hours incurred for automated and non-automated
transmissions, separate weekly burden hours incurred for modernizing
surveillance systems as part of NNDSS Modernization Initiative (NMI)
implementation, separate burden hours incurred for annual data
reconciliation and submission, and separate one-time burden hours
incurred for the addition of new diseases and data elements. The burden
estimates for the one-time burden for reporting jurisdictions for the
addition of case notification data for Blastomycosis and disease-
specific data elements for CO Poisoning, Congenital Syphilis, and
Sexually Transmitted Disease (not congenital). The estimated annual
burden for the 257 respondents is 18,354 hours.
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Average
Number of Number of burden per Total burden
Type of respondents Form name respondents responses per response (in (in hours)
respondent hours)
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States......................................... Weekly (Automated)..................... 50 52 20/60 867
States......................................... Weekly (Non-automated)................. 10 52 2 1,040
States......................................... Weekly (NMI Implementation)............ 50 52 4 10,400
States......................................... Annual................................. 50 1 75 3,750
States......................................... One-time Addition of Diseases and Data 50 1 2 100
Elements.
Territories.................................... Weekly (Automated)..................... 5 52 20/60 87
Territories.................................... Weekly, Quarterly (Non-automated)...... 5 56 20/60 93
Territories.................................... Weekly (NMI Implementation)............ 5 52 4 1,040
Territories.................................... Annual................................. 5 1 5 25
Territories.................................... One-time Addition of Diseases and Data 5 1 2 10
Elements.
Freely Associated States....................... Weekly (Automated)..................... 3 52 20/60 52
Freely Associated States....................... Weekly, Quarterly (Non-automated)...... 3 56 20/60 56
Freely Associated States....................... Annual................................. 3 1 5 15
Freely Associated States....................... One-time Addition of Diseases and Data 3 1 2 6
Elements.
Cities......................................... Weekly (Automated)..................... 2 52 20/60 35
Cities......................................... Weekly (Non-automated)................. 2 52 2 208
Cities......................................... Weekly (NMI Implementation)............ 2 52 4 416
Cities......................................... Annual................................. 2 1 75 150
Cities......................................... One-time Addition of Diseases and Data 2 1 2 4
Elements.
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Total...................................... ....................................... .............. .............. .............. 18,354
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Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific
Integrity, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2019-24003 Filed 11-1-19; 8:45 am]
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