Department of Health and Human Services August 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The inventions listed below are owned by an agency of the U.S. Government and are available for licensing in the U.S. in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 207 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.

Under the provisions of Section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve the information collection listed below. This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on June 6, 2008, Volume 73, Number 110, Page 32338 and allowed 60 days for public comment. In response to the notice, there were no public comments 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, and 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. Proposed Collection: Title: Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO). Type of Information Collection Request: REVISION (OMB : 0925-0407, current expiry date 10/31/2008). Need and Use of Information Collection: This trial is designed to determine if screening for prostate, lung, colorectal and ovarian cancer can reduce mortality from these cancers which currently cause an estimated 254,900 deaths annually in the U.S. The design is a two-armed randomized trial of men and women aged 55 to 74 at entry. OMB first approved this study in 1993 and has approved it every 3 years since then through 2008. During the first approval period a pilot study was conducted to evaluate recruitment methods and data collection procedures. Recruitment was completed in 2001 and data collection continues through 2008. When participants enrolled in the trial they agreed to be followed for at least 13 years from the time of enrollment. The current number of respondents in the study is 136, 341; this is down from the total initially due to deaths. The primary endpoint of the trial is cancer-specific mortality for each of the four cancer sites (prostate, lung, colorectum, and ovary). In addition, cancer incidence, stage shift, and case survival are to be monitored to help understand and explain results. Biologic prognostic characteristics of the cancers will be measured and correlated with mortality to determine the mortality predictive value of these intermediate endpoints. Basic demographic data, risk factor data for the four cancer sites and screening history data, as collected from all subjects at baseline, will be used to assure comparability between the screening and control groups and make appropriate adjustments in analysis. Further, demographic and risk factor information may be used to analyze the differential effectiveness of screening in high versus low risk individuals. Frequency of Response: Annually. Affected Public: Individuals. Type of Respondents: Adult men and women. The estimated total annual burden hours requested is 11,401. The annualized cost to respondents is estimated at $219,919 per year, for a total of $659,756 over the proposed three year renewal. There are no Capital Costs to report. There are no Operating or Maintenance Costs to report.

This rule amends our regulations, which provide for service of process on the Department of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, or other employees of the Department in their official capacities. The purpose of this amendment is to expand the number of people who can be served process on behalf of the Department.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gives notice as required by 42 CFR 83.12(e) of a decision to evaluate a petition to designate a class of employees for the Connecticut Aircraft Nuclear Engine Laboratory, Middletown, Connecticut, to be included in the Special Exposure Cohort under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. The initial proposed definition for the class being evaluated, subject to revision as warranted by the evaluation, is as follows: Facility: Connecticut Aircraft Nuclear Engine Laboratory. Location: Middletown, Connecticut. Job Titles and/or Job Duties: All employees. Period of Employment: January 1958 through December 1960.

AHRQ is establishing a new research portfolio, the Innovations Portfolio. The Portfolio goal is to identify and support research that has the potential to accelerate improvements in the organization, delivery, and management of healthcare. AHRQ seeks ideas on priority topics and activities that should be addressed as components of the Innovations Portfolio.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is correcting a final rule that appeared in the Federal Register of July 17, 2008 (73 FR 40967). The final rule reclassified bone sonometer devices from class III into class II, subject to special controls. The document contained an inadvertent error regarding the impact of the final rule on small businesses. This document corrects that error.

As stipulated by the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is hereby giving notice that the National Biodefense Science Board (NBSB) will be holding a public teleconference. The meeting is open to the public.

This notice announces the opportunity for public and private- sector organizations to act as potential cosponsors for a 2-day conference that we are sponsoring to educate stakeholders about the new e-prescribing initiative as described in section 132 of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008.