Department of Health and Human Services October 22, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice acknowledges the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) receipt and review of the annual report submitted to the Secretary and Congress by the contracted consensus-based entity regarding performance measurement as mandated by section 183 of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA). The statute requires HHS to publish not later than six months after receiving the annual report to Congress in the Federal Register together with any Secretarial comments.

The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005, 42 U.S.C. 299b-21 to b-26, (Patient Safety Act) provides for the formation of Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs), which collect, aggregate, and analyze confidential information regarding the quality and safety of healthcare delivery. The Patient Safety Act (at 42 U.S.C. 299b-23) authorizes the collection of this information in a standardized manner, as explained in the related Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Final Rule, 42 CFR part 3 (Patient Safety Rule), published in the Federal Register on November 21, 2008: 73 FR 70731-70814. As authorized by the Secretary of HHS, AHRQ coordinates the development of a set of common definitions and reporting formats (Common Formats) that allow healthcare providers to voluntarily collect and submit standardized information regarding patient safety events. The purpose of this notice is to announce the availability of a significant revision of a previously released Common Format for public review and comment.

HHS gives notice as required by 42 CFR 83.12(e) of a decision to evaluate a petition to designate a class of employees from BWX Technologies, Inc., Lynchburg, Virginia, 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: BWX Technologies, Inc. Location: Lynchburg, Virginia. Job Titles and/or Job Duties: All Atomic Weapons Employer employees. Period of Employment: January 1, 1985 through November 30, 1994.

In compliance with Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, which requires 30 days for public comment on proposed information collection projects, the Indian Health Service (IHS) 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 project was previously published in the Federal Register (74 FR 59544) on November 18, 2009 and allowed 60 days for public comment. No public comment was received in response to the notice. The purpose of this notice is to allow 30 days for public comment to be submitted directly to OMB. Proposed Collection: Title: Office of Urban Indian Health Programs (OUIHP) Uniform Data System (UDS). Type of Information Collection Request: Initial request and four-year extension, for data collection to ensure compliance with legislative mandates and report to Congress and policymakers on program accomplishments. Form Number(s): There are currently no form numbers. Reporting formats are contained in the UDS Instruction Manual. Need and Use of Information Collection: The UDS contains the annual reporting requirements for the cluster of primary health care and case management/outreach and referral grantees funded by the IHS. The UDS includes reporting requirements for grantees of the OUIHP. The authorizing statute is Title V of Public Law 94-437, of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, as amended. IHS will collect data in the UDS which will be used to ensure compliance with the legislative mandates and report to Congress and policymakers on program accomplishments. To meet these objectives, the OUIHP requires a core set of data collected annually that is appropriate for monitoring and evaluating performance and reporting on annual trends. Affected Public: Title V funded urban Indian health programs. Type of Respondents: Title V urban Indian health programs. The table below provides: Types of data collection instruments, Number of respondents, Responses per respondent, Total annual responses, Average burden hours per response, and Total annual burden hours.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL), will conduct a public meeting to discuss current respirator standards development projects, including the NIOSH Regulatory Agenda for updating 42 CFR part 84, CBRN Combination Unit Respirator Performance Requirements, and the NIOSH policy on SCBA ``Buddy-Breathing''. There will be an opportunity for discussion following each topic's presentations.