Department of Health and Human Services November 1, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has awarded a grant entitled, ``A Comparison of Multiple Methods To Incent Physicians To Adopt Electronic Prescribing Devices'' to Medco Health Solutions, Inc., 100 Parsons Pond Drive, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417 in response to an unsolicited proposal. The period of performance is August 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006. The purpose of this grant is to fund an initial evaluation of the Southeastern Michigan e-Prescribing Initiative (SEMI) project. Through the use of e-prescribing, this program is intended to reduce the costs associated with the use of prescription drugs, and improve safety for patients, including Medicare beneficiaries, associated with an estimated 6,000 targeted physicians/prescribers in Southeastern Michigan. The project involves the active collaboration of multiple employers, insurance entities and care providers in eight counties in Southeastern Michigan. Partners include the Big Three automakers, Ford, General Motors and Daimler Chrysler; Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan; Henry Ford Health System/Health Alliance Plan; Health Plus of Michigan; SureScripts, RxHub and MedCo. This is a unique project in terms of size, sponsoring organizations, patient base, geographic area, and approach. This project is consistent with CMS' goals to improve health care quality, patient safety, and the use of electronic prescribing. Funding of this unsolicited proposal will result in a desirable public benefit in that its aim is to provide needed information on the costs and critical success factors associated with the adoption of electronic prescribing, as well as to provide improvements in quality and safety of care delivery.

Under the provisions of section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for review and approval of the information collection listed below. This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on March 10, 2005, page 11994 and allowed 60 days for public comment. No public comments were received. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment. The National Institutes of Health may not conduct or sponsor, the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection that has been extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the animal drug regulations to reflect approval of a supplemental new animal drug application (NADA) filed by Virbac AH, Inc. The supplemental NADA provides revised labeling for ivermectin and praziquantel oral paste used in horses for the treatment and control of various internal parasites.