Department of Health and Human Services – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing that a collection of information entitled "Electronic Records: Electronic Signatures" has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is reopening the comment period for the proposed rule, "Color Additive Certification; Increase in Fees for Certification Services," which published in the Federal Register of November 2, 2022. We are taking this action to add supporting information to the administrative record and to adjust the record to reflect the same cost and benefits figures that were published in the preliminary regulatory impact analysis. We are reopening the comment period for 30 days specifically to invite public comments on the new information being added to the administrative record.

HRSA's Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) utilizes clear, consistent, and data-driven methods of defining rural areas in the United States for the purposes of determining eligibility for its rural health grant programs. FORHP monitors ongoing national research and, as appropriate, considers updates to its definition. Because access to needed health care is likely to be reduced when roads are most difficult to traverse, with this notice, FORHP proposes to modify the definition of rural areas by integrating the new Road Ruggedness Scale (RRS) released in 2023 by the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which characterizes topographic variability, or ruggedness, of roads. This proposal does not impact rural areas included in the current FORHP definition. This notice seeks public comment on FORHP's proposal. This notice also includes a technical clarification explaining how FORHP will use Census data to identify outlying Metropolitan Statistical Area counties that qualify as rural in future updates given the U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 Census terminology changes that removed the categories of Urban Clusters and Urbanized Areas.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing that we have filed a food additive petition, submitted by Environmental Defense Fund, et al., proposing that the food additive regulations be amended to remove fluorinated polyethylene.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing an opportunity for the public to comment on CMS' intention to collect information from the public. 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 or reinstatement of an existing collection of information) and to allow 60 days for public comment on the proposed action. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding our burden estimates or any other aspect of this collection of information, including the necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions, the accuracy of the estimated burden, ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry, institutional review boards (IRBs), and clinical investigators entitled "Cancer Clinical Trial Eligibility Criteria: Laboratory Values." This draft guidance is one in a series of guidances that provide recommendations regarding eligibility criteria for clinical trials of investigational drugs regulated by the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) and the Center for Biologics Evaluation Research (CBER) for the treatment of cancer. Specifically, this draft guidance includes recommendations for selecting appropriate laboratory values as trial eligibility criteria to avoid unjustified exclusions of diverse trial participants.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry, institutional review boards (IRBs), and clinical investigators entitled "Cancer Clinical Trial Eligibility Criteria: Performance Status." This draft guidance is one in a series of guidances that provide recommendations regarding eligibility criteria for clinical trials of investigational drugs regulated by the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) and the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) for the treatment of cancer. Specifically, this draft guidance includes recommendations regarding expanding eligibility criteria to include patients with a wider range of performance status.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing an opportunity for the public to comment on CMS' intention to collect information from the public. 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 or reinstatement of an existing collection of information) and to allow 60 days for public comment on the proposed action. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding our burden estimates or any other aspect of this collection of information, including the necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions, the accuracy of the estimated burden, ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden.

The invention listed below is owned by an agency of the U.S. Government and is available for licensing to achieve expeditious commercialization of results of federally-funded research and development. Foreign patent applications are filed on selected inventions to extend market coverage for companies and may also be available for licensing.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS or "Department") is issuing this final rule to modify the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information ("Privacy Rule") under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH Act). The Department is issuing this final rule after careful consideration of all public comments received in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for the HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy ("2023 Privacy Rule NPRM") and public comments received on proposals to revise provisions of the HIPAA Privacy Rule in the NPRM for the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Patient Records ("2022 Part 2 NPRM").

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing the availability of a revised draft guidance for industry entitled "Promotional Labeling and Advertising Considerations for Prescription Biological Reference Products, Biosimilar Products, and Interchangeable Biosimilar Products: Questions and Answers." FDA is issuing this revised draft guidance to address questions that manufacturers, packers, distributors, and their representatives (firms) may have when developing FDA-regulated promotional labeling and advertisements (promotional communications) for prescription reference products, biosimilar products, and interchangeable biosimilar products licensed under the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act). In conjunction with the enactment of the Biosimilar User Fee Amendments of 2022 (BsUFA III), FDA agreed to publish a draft guidance on promotional labeling and advertising considerations for interchangeable biosimilar products, as described in the document titled "Biosimilar Biological Product Reauthorization Performance Goals and Procedures Fiscal Years 2023 through 2027." The revised draft guidance is consistent with this commitment and replaces the draft guidance for industry entitled "Promotional Labeling and Advertising Considerations for Prescription Biological Reference and Biosimilar Products: Questions and Answers" issued on February 4, 2020.

In compliance with the requirement of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Secretary (OS), Department of Health and Human Services, is publishing the following summary of a proposed collection for public comment.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Comments submitted during the first public review of this ICR will be provided to OMB. OMB will accept further comments from the public during the review and approval period. OMB may act on HRSA's ICR only after the 30-day comment period for this notice has closed.

In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA announces plans to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks comments from the public regarding the burden estimate, below, or any other aspect of the ICR.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is withdrawing approval of 23 new drug applications (NDAs) from multiple applicants. The applicants notified the Agency in writing that the drug products were no longer marketed and requested that the approval of the applications be withdrawn.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, Agency, or we) 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 a generic clearance to collect information to support social and behavioral research used by FDA about drug products.

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 information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project titled Direct Reading Methodologies, Sensors, and Robotics Technology Assessment in Lab/Simulator-based Settings. The proposed data collection will allow NIOSH to assess the safety and health considerations of these rapidly changing direct reading methods, sensor, and robotics technologies.