Department of Health and Human Services 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the Agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the 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 reporting requirements contained in existing FDA regulations governing State petitions for exemption from preemption.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the Agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA), Federal Agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed 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 that will provide tools to test the usability of FDA communications on specific topics and to assist in the development and modification of communication messages to promote public health and compliance with regulations.

The National Alzheimer's Project Act, Public Law 111-375 (42 U.S.C. 11225), requires that the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) establish the Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services. The Advisory Council is governed by provisions of Public Law 92-463 (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), which sets forth standards for the formation and use of advisory committees. The Secretary of HHS has determined that establishment of the Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services is desirable to provide advice and consultation to the Secretary on how to prevent or reduce the burden of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias on people with the disease and their caregivers. The Secretary signed the charter establishing the Advisory Council on May 23, 2011. HHS is soliciting nominations for non-Federal members of the Advisory Council. Nominations should include the nominee's contact information (current mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number) and a current curriculum vitae or resume.

This document is a request for information regarding specific aspects of the regulatory policies and standards that may be applied to the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs (oral fluid specimen).

HHS gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a class of employees from the Wah Chang facility, Albany, Oregon, as an addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. On April 29, 2011, as provided for under 42 U.S.C. 7384q(b), the Secretary of HHS designated the following class of employees as an addition to the SEC:

HHS gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a class of employees from the Linde Ceramics Plant in Tonawanda, New York, as an addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. On April 21, 2011, as provided for under 42 U.S.C. 7384q(b), the Secretary of HHS designated the following class of employees as an addition to the SEC:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces the next Federal advisory committee meeting regarding the national health promotion and disease prevention objectives for 2020. This meeting will be open to the public and will be held online via WebEx software. The Secretary's Advisory Committee on National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives for 2020 will address efforts to implement the nation's health promotion and disease prevention objectives and strategies to improve the health status and reduce health risks for Americans by the year 2020. The Committee will provide to the Secretary of Health and Human Services advice and consultation for implementing Healthy People 2020, the nation's health promotion and disease prevention goals and objectives, and provide recommendations for initiatives to occur during the implementation phase of the goals and objectives.

The Administration on Aging (AoA) is announcing that the proposed collection of information listed below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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.

This notice requests members of the public to nominate experts to provide individual input into the CHIPRA Pediatric Quality Measures Program. Section 401(a) of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-3) amended the Social Security Act (the Act) by adding Section 1139A, which directs the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a Pediatric Quality Measures Program. The purpose of the Pediatric Quality Measures Program is to (a) Improve and strengthen the initial core child health care quality measures established pursuant to Section 1139A(a) of the Act; (b) expand on existing quality measures used by public and private health care purchasers and advance the development of such new and emerging quality measures; and (c) increase the portfolio of evidence-based, consensus pediatric quality measures available to public and private purchasers of children's health care services, providers, and consumers. A meeting of the experts will be held on September 18, 2011, in Bethesda, Maryland. We are seeking experts who can provide individual comment on the criteria by which new or enhanced children's health care quality measures will be evaluated. Expert panels will be convened in subsequent years to evaluate new or enhanced children's health care quality measures using these criteria. These evaluations will take place annually before recommended changes to the core set of children's health care quality measures are published in the Federal Register on or before January 1, 2013; January 1, 2014; and December 31, 2014. The initial core set of children's health care quality measures was published December 29, 2009, in Volume 74, No. 248 of the Federal Register. Section 1139A(b) of the Act identifies several minimum criteria that the core set of children's health care quality measures must meet and requires consultation with stakeholders in identifying gaps in existing pediatric quality measures and establishing priorities for development and advancement of such measures. AHRQ will convene a group of experts representing a broad range of stakeholder groups. These experts will be asked to provide individual comments on the additional aspects of validity, feasibility, importance, understandability, or other criteria that should be considered when reviewing quality measures. They will also be asked to provide individual comments on the documentation required to provide evidence that each criterion has been met. We seek nominations for a panel of 15 experts that will include representatives from among the following groups: State Medicaid Programs and Children's Health Insurance Programs (CHIP); pediatricians, children's hospitals, and other primary and specialized pediatric health care professionals (including members of the allied health professions) who specialize in the care and treatment of children, particularly children with special physical, mental, and developmental health care needs; dental professionals, including pediatric dental professionals; health care providers that furnish primary health care to children and families who live in urban and rural medically underserved communities or who are members of distinct population sub-groups at heightened risk for poor health outcomes; national organizations representing children, including children with disabilities and children with chronic conditions; national organizations representing consumers and purchasers of children's health care; national organizations and individuals with expertise in pediatric health quality measurement; and voluntary consensus standards setting organizations and other organizations involved in the advancement of evidence-based measures of health care. Individuals, who are affiliated with the CHIPRA PQMP Centers of Excellence as subcontractors, stakeholders, or key personnel (``affiliated individuals''), are not eligible to apply. However, other individuals from entities represented by the affiliated individuals are eligible to apply. We are seeking individuals who are distinguished in their knowledge of health care disparities (e.g., racial and ethnic disparities), child health quality measurement methods, and the application of health information technology to quality measurement. Individuals are particularly sought with experience and success in activities specified in the summary above.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is withdrawing its proposed rule to update the quality assurance and control requirements for the manufacture of respirators approved under 42 CFR Part 84 by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). NIOSH has reviewed the comments it received to the proposed rule and determined that additional analysis is needed to assess the economic impact of its proposed rule. NIOSH plans to seek further information and to consider possible alternative approaches.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is extending the comment period for the notice of public meeting, that appeared in the Federal Register of August 9, 2010 (75 FR 47820). In the notice, FDA requested comments to gather stakeholder input on the development of a generic drug user fee program. The Agency is taking this action to allow interested persons additional time to submit comments.

This document corrects technical errors that appeared in the notice published in the May 20, 2011 Federal Register entitled ``Medicare Program; Pioneer Accountable Care Organization Model: Request for Applications.''

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of grant funds for the support of a cooperative agreement between the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). The goal of the cooperative agreement for CFSAN is to have NACCHO conduct work that will strengthen the role of local health departments and help FDA/CFSAN promote effective city and county regulatory programs responsible for retail food protection in the United States.

This rule proposes to implement new statutory requirements regarding the release and use of standardized extracts of Medicare claims data to measure the performance of providers and suppliers in ways that protect patient privacy. This rule explains how entities can become qualified by CMS to receive standardized extracts of claims data under Medicare Parts A, B, and D for the purpose of evaluation of the performance of providers of services and suppliers.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the Agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the 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 requirements related to the recall of infant formula.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that BASF Corp. has filed a petition proposing that the food additive regulations be amended to provide for the safe use of methyl esters of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) as a source of fatty acids in lactating dairy cow diets and for use of silicon dioxide as a carrier for the methyl esters of CLA.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined that ORLAAM (levomethadyl acetate hydrochloride (HCl)) oral solution, 10 milligrams (mg)/milliliter (mL), was not withdrawn from sale for reasons of safety or effectiveness. This determination will allow FDA to approve abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) for levomethadyl acetate HCl oral solution, 10 mg/mL, if all other legal and regulatory requirements are met.

This final rule will implement section 2702 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue Medicaid regulations effective as of July 1, 2011 prohibiting Federal payments to States under section 1903 of the Social Security Act for any amounts expended for providing medical assistance for health care-acquired conditions specified in the regulation. It will also authorize States to identify other provider- preventable conditions for which Medicaid payment will be prohibited.

This proposed notice sets forth proposed revisions to work relative value units (RVUs) and corresponding changes to the practice expense and malpractice RVUs affecting payment for physicians' services. The statute requires that we review RVUs no less often than every 5 years. This is our Fourth Five-Year Review of Work RVUs since we implemented the physician fee schedule (PFS) on January 1, 1992. These revisions to work RVUs are proposed to be effective for services furnished beginning January 1, 2012. These revisions reflect changes in medical practice and coding that affect the relative amount of physician work required to perform each service as required by the statute. The Fourth Five-Year Review of Work includes services that were submitted through public comment and by the Medicare contractor medical directors (CMDs), as well as a number of potentially misvalued codes identified by CMS (that is, Harvard valued codes and codes with Site-of-Service anomalies).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability for comments of a draft revised guidance for industry (159) entitled ``Studies to Evaluate the Safety of Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Human Food: General Approach to Establish a Microbiological ADI'' (VICH GL36(R)). This draft revised guidance, which updates a final guidance on the same topic for which a notice of availability was published in the Federal Register of February 11, 2005, has been developed for veterinary use by the International Cooperation on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Veterinary Medicinal Products (VICH). This draft revised VICH guidance was revised to include Appendix DSupplement to Section 2 Regarding the Determination of the Fraction of Oral Dose Available to Microorganisms. This draft VICH guidance document is intended to provide guidance for assessing the human food safety of residues from veterinary antimicrobial drugs with regard to effects on the human intestinal flora.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that a collection of information entitled ``Restaurant Menu and Vending Machine Labeling: Registration for Small Chains Under Section 4205 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010'' has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that a proposed collection of information has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

This notice provides the adjusted Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) rates for the second and third quarters of Fiscal Year 2011 (FY11) as required under Section 5001 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Section 5001 of the ARRA provides for temporary increases in the FMAP rates to provide fiscal relief to states and to protect and maintain state Medicaid and certain other assistance programs in a period of economic downturn. The increased FMAP rates apply during a recession adjustment period that was originally defined in ARRA as the period beginning October 1, 2008 and ending December 31, 2010. Public Law 111-226 amended ARRA to extend the recession adjustment period to June 30, 2011 and to extend the hold harmless provision that prevents a state's FMAP rate from decreasing due to a lower unemployment rate from the calendar quarter ending before July 1, 2010 to the calendar quarter ending before January 1, 2011. Public Law 111-226 also provided for a phase-down of the general FMAP increase in the last two quarters of the extended recession adjustment period, and changed the look back period for calculating the unemployment adjustment for those quarters.

This notice announces the intention of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve the proposed information collection project: ``Using Nursing Home Antibiograms to Improve Antibiotic Prescribing and Delivery.'' In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed information collection. This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on March 25th, 2011 and allowed 60 days for public comment. No comments were received. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is publishing a list of premarket approval applications (PMAs) that have been approved. This list is intended to inform the public of the availability of safety and effectiveness summaries of approved PMAs through the Internet and the Agency's Division of Dockets Management.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) notifies Federal agencies of the Laboratories and Instrumented Initial Testing Facilities (IITF) currently certified to meet the standards of the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs (Mandatory Guidelines). The Mandatory Guidelines were first published in the Federal Register on April 11, 1988 (53 FR 11970), and subsequently revised in the Federal Register on June 9, 1994 (59 FR 29908); September 30, 1997 (62 FR 51118); April 13, 2004 (69 FR 19644); November 25, 2008 (73 FR 71858); December 10, 2008 (73 FR 75122); and on April 30, 2010 (75 FR 22809). A notice listing all currently certified Laboratories and Instrumented Initial Testing Facilities (IITF) is published in the Federal Register during the first week of each month. If any Laboratory/IITF's certification is suspended or revoked, the Laboratory/IITF will be omitted from subsequent lists until such time as it is restored to full certification under the Mandatory Guidelines. If any Laboratory/IITF has withdrawn from the HHS National Laboratory Certification Program (NLCP) during the past month, it will be listed at the end and will be omitted from the monthly listing thereafter. This notice is also available on the Internet at https:// www.workplace.samhsa.gov and https://www.drugfreeworkplace.gov.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requests stakeholder input on the progress and future directions of the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP). NIOSH is seeking stakeholder input on the FFFIPP to ensure that the program is meeting the needs and expectations of the U.S. fire service, and to identify ways in which the program can be improved to increase its impact on the safety and health of fire fighters across the United States. NIOSH will compile and consider all comments received through the NIOSH docket and use them in making decisions on how to proceed with the FFFIPP.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the Agency's regulations to reflect changes to the Division of Freedom of Information's office name, address, telephone number, and fax number and the Division of Freedom of Information Public Reading room's fax and room number. This action is editorial in nature and is intended to improve the accuracy of the Agency's regulations.

This proposed rule would modify the 2011 electronic prescribing (eRx) quality measure (that is, the eRx quality measure used for certain reporting periods in calendar year (CY) 2011), provide additional significant hardship exemption categories for eligible professionals and group practices to request an exemption during 2011 for the 2012 eRx payment adjustment due to a significant hardship, and extend the deadline for submitting requests for consideration for the two significant hardship exemption categories for the 2012 eRx payment adjustment that were finalized in the CY 2011 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule with comment period.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of the draft guidance entitled ``Commercially Distributed In Vitro Diagnostic Products Labeled for Research Use Only or Investigational Use Only: Frequently Asked Questions.'' This draft guidance document is intended for manufacturers and distributors of research use only (RUO) and investigational use only (IUO) in vitro diagnostic (IVD) products and any other entities who label IVD products.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the Agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the 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 the information collection provisions of FDA's Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) Regulations for Finished Pharmaceuticals.

Under the authority granted to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (the National Coordinator) by section 3001(c)(5) of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) as added by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, this rule proposes a process for addressing instances where the ONC-Approved Accreditor (ONC-AA) engages in improper conduct or does not perform its responsibilities under the permanent certification program. This rule also proposes to address the status of ONC- Authorized Certification Bodies (ONC-ACBs) in instances where there may be a change in the accreditation organization serving as the ONC-AA and clarifies the responsibilities of the new ONC-AA.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS or ``the Department'') is issuing this notice of proposed rulemaking to modify the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule's standard for accounting of disclosures of protected health information. The purpose of these modifications is, in part, to implement the statutory requirement under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (``the HITECH Act'' or ``the Act'') to require covered entities and business associates to account for disclosures of protected health information to carry out treatment, payment, and health care operations if such disclosures are through an electronic health record. Pursuant to both the HITECH Act and its more general authority under HIPAA, the Department proposes to expand the accounting provision to provide individuals with the right to receive an access report indicating who has accessed electronic protected health information in a designated record set. Under its more general authority under HIPAA, the Department also proposes changes to the existing accounting requirements to improve their workability and effectiveness.

The Health Resources and Services Administration published a notice in the Federal Register, 76 FR 27651 (May 12, 2011), announcing the meeting of the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines, June 9- 10, 2011, in the Parklawn Building (and via audio conference call), Conference Rooms G & H, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (the Agency) is issuing an order under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) debarring Adrien Aiache, M.D. for 5 years from providing services in any capacity to a person that has an approved or pending drug product application. FDA bases this order on findings that Dr. Aiache was convicted of a misdemeanor under Federal law for conduct relating to the regulation of a drug product under the FD&C Act and that the type of conduct underlying the conviction undermines the process for the regulation of drugs. Dr. Aiache was given notice of the proposed debarment and an opportunity to request a hearing within the timeframe prescribed by regulation. Dr. Aiache failed to respond. Dr. Aiache's failure to respond constitutes a waiver of his right to a hearing concerning this action.

As stipulated by the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is hereby giving notice that the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) will hold a meeting. The meeting is open to the public. Pre-registration is required for both public attendance and comment. Individuals who wish to attend the meeting and/or participate in the public comment session should register at https://www.hhs.gov/nvpo/nvac, e-mail nvpo@hhs.gov or call 202-690-5566 and provide name, organization and e-mail address.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing a public meeting entitled ``FDA Food Safety Modernization Act: Focus on Inspections and Compliance.'' The purpose of the public meeting is to provide interested persons an opportunity to discuss implementation of inspections and compliance under the recently enacted FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). More specifically, the public will have an opportunity to provide information and share views that will inform FDA's FSMA implementation strategies relative to enforcement authorities; frequency and targeting of facility inspections; manner of inspection in a preventive controls environment; and improving the reportable food registry (RFR).

The Administration of Children and Family (ACF), Office of Community Services (OCS), announces the award of a replacement grant under the Strengthening Communities Fund (SCF) for the State, Local, and Tribal Government Capacity Building Program grant to Humboldt State University Sponsored Programs Foundation, Arcata, CA. Humboldt State is an eligible designate of the Governor's Office on Economic Development in California. California Volunteers, Inc., Sacramento CA was originally awarded an FY 2009 grant as the result of a competition under the SCF program. In October 2010, California Volunteers submitted a letter relinquishing their grant. Humboldt State University Sponsored Programs Foundation submitted their letter along with their grant application requesting approval as the replacement grantee. OCS reviewed the application from Humboldt State University Sponsored Programs Foundation and found that the proposed project is significantly similar to the one initially chosen for the award. ACF, OCS now announces that Humboldt State University Sponsored Programs Foundation has been awarded the grant in the amount of $233,866 as the permanent successor grantee for the remainder of the project period, which will end on September 29, 2011. Under the award, Humboldt State University Sponsored Programs Foundation will continue to provide coordinated, timely capacity- building outreach, training and technical assistance to faith-based and community organizations in California.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that a collection of information entitled ``Color Additive Certification Requests and Recordkeeping'' has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

This notice announces the intention of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve the proposed information collection project: ``Comparative Effectiveness Research-Continuing Education.'' In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed information collection. This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on February 28th, 2011 and allowed 60 days for public comment. No comments were received. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment.