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

This document adopts the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program Administrative Implementation Interim Final Rule as the final rule with technical amendments. The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to establish the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP or Program). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is issuing this final rule to adopt the administrative policies, procedures, and requirements for the CICP set out in the interim final rule, which was published and effective on October 15, 2010. This Program is designed to provide benefits to certain persons who sustain serious physical injuries or death as a direct result of administration or use of covered countermeasures identified by the Secretary in declarations issued under the PREP Act. In addition, the Secretary may provide death benefits to certain survivors of individuals who died as the direct result of such covered injuries or their health complications. The Secretary makes only minor technical amendments to the interim final rule, described below, and otherwise adopts the regulation as published on October 15, 2010.

This notice seeks comment on an OIG proposal to revise standards for assessing the performance of the State Medicaid Fraud Control Units (MFCUs or Units). This proposal would replace and supersede standards published on September 26, 1994 (59 FR 49080).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of a guidance for industry entitled ``Implementation of the Fee Provisions of Section 107 of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.'' FDA is issuing this guidance to provide answers to common questions that might arise about the new fee provisions and FDA's plans for their implementation in fiscal year (FY) 2012.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of draft standard operating procedures (SOPs) for a new ``Network of Experts.'' The draft SOPs describe a new process for staff at the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH, the center) to gain access to scientific, engineering, and medical expertise when it is needed to supplement existing knowledge and expertise within the Center.

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.

In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects, the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects to be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Proposed Collection: Title: STAR METRICS (Science and Technology for America's Reinvestment: Measuring the EffecTs of Research on Innovation, Competitiveness and Science). Type of Information Collection Request: Reinstatement of OMB number 0925-0616, expiration date 01/31/2011. Need and Use of Information Collection: The aim of STAR METRICS is twofold. The goal of STAR METRICS is to continue to provide mechanisms that will allow participating universities and Federal agencies with a reliable and consistent means to account for the number of scientists and staff that are on research institution payrolls, supported by Federal funds. In subsequent generations of the program, it is hoped that STAR METRICS will allow for measurement of science impact on economic outcomes (such as job creation), on knowledge generation (such as citations and patents) as well as on social and health outcomes. Frequency of Response: Quarterly. Affected Public: Universities and other research institutions. Type of Respondents: University administrators. The annual reporting burden is as follows: Estimated Number of Respondents: 100. Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 4. Average Burden Hours per Response: 2.5. Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours Requested: 1,315. The annualized cost to respondents is estimated to be $65,750. There are no Capital Costs to report. There are no Operating or Maintenance Costs to report.

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.

The NTP announces the availability of the Draft NTP Monograph on the Health Effects of Low-level Lead (available at https:// ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/36639) that will be peer-reviewed by an NTP Peer Review Panel at a meeting on November 17-18, 2011. The meeting is open to the public with time scheduled for oral public comment. The NTP also invites written comments on the draft monograph (see Request for Comments below).

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.