Indian Health Service – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Indian Health Service (IHS) invites the general public to take this opportunity to comment on the information collection Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number 0917-0014, titled, ``IHS Loan Repayment Program (LRP).'' This previously approved information collection project was last published in the Federal Register (80 FR 23558) on April 28, 2015, and allowed 60 and 30 days for public comment. No public comment was received in response to the notices. This notice announces our intent to submit this collection, which expires July 31, 2018, to OMB for approval of an extension and solicit comments on specific aspects for the proposed information collection. A copy of the draft supporting statement is available at www.regulations.gov (see Docket ID IHS_FRDOC_0001).

The Indian Health Service published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) on August 14, 2017, for the Fiscal Year 2017 Preventing Alcohol-Related Deaths (PARD) through Social Detoxification program, Funding Announcement Number: HHS-2017-IHS-PARD-0001. Several Key Dates have been modified.

The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services hereby issues this final notice to re-designate the Purchased/Referred Care Delivery Area (PRCDA) for the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation (Tribe) (previously known as the Smith River Rancheria of Smith River, California), to provide Purchased/Referred Care (PRC) services to their Tribal members residing in Curry County, Oregon, which is in the Portland Area Indian Health Service (IHS). The Tolowa Dee-ni's Tribal Headquarters is located 3 miles south of the California-Oregon border in Northern California. The entire State of California, excluding the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Marin, Orange, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Kern, Merced, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, Solano, Stanislaus, and Ventura, was designated by the IHS as a PRCDA, formerly known as a Contract Health Service Delivery Area, in accordance with statute. The current PRCDA for Tolowa Dee-ni' Tribal members is the statutorily specified California PRCDA. The expanded PRCDA for the Tolowa Dee-ni' Tribe includes the statutorily specified California PRCDA and Curry County in the State of Oregon.

Notice is hereby given that Indian Health Service (IHS) is establishing the geographic boundaries of the Purchased/Referred Care Delivery Area (PRCDA) (formerly Contract Health Service Delivery Area or CHSDA) for the newly recognized Pamunkey Indian Tribe. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe's PRCDA is to be comprised of Caroline; Hanover; Henrico; King William; King and Queen; and New Kent Counties and the independent city of Richmond in the State of Virginia. The six counties and the one independent city listed are being designated administratively as the PRCDA for the Pamunkey Indian Tribe.

The Indian Health Service published a document in the Federal Register (FR) on May 1, 2017, for the Fiscal Year 2017 Tribal Management Grant Program. Several Key Dates have been modified.

This document extends the comment period for the Tolowa Dee ni' redesignation of the Tribe's Service Delivery Area (SDA), which was published in the Federal Register on March 31, 2017. The comment period for the notice, which would have ended on May 1, 2017, is extended for 60 days.

This notice advises the public that the Indian Health Service (IHS) proposes to expand the geographic boundaries of the Purchased/ Referred Care (PRC) Service Delivery Area (SDA) for the Passamaquoddy Tribe's reservation at Indian Township (Passamaquoddy at Indian Township or Tribe) in Maine. This notice does not propose to change or expand the PRC SDA for the Tribe's Pleasant Point reservation. This notice only relates to the expansion of the Tribe's PRC SDA for the Indian Township reservation.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Indian Health Service (IHS) is submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for an extension of a previously approved collection of information titled, ``Indian Health Service Environmental Health Assessment of Tribal Child Care Centers in the Pacific Northwest'' (OMB Control Number 0917-NEW), which expired September 23, 2016. This proposed information collection project was recently published in the Federal Register (81 FR 48437) on July 25, 2016, and allowed 60 days for public comment. The IHS received no comments regarding this collection. The purpose of this notice is to allow 30 days for public comment to be submitted directly to OMB. A copy of the supporting statement is available at www.regulations.gov (see Docket ID IHS-2015-0003).

Indian Health Service (IHS) has entered into a contract with the National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) to assist in the development of a five-year strategic plan. Funding for this project was provided by Congress in the 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which directs IHS to develop the plan in consultation with urban Indians and the Academy. As part of this project, the Academy project team is in the process of conducting extensive outreach to IHS/Office of Urban Indian Health Programs (OUIHP) leadership and employees, as well as conferring with urban Indian organizations and other key external stakeholder groups. The final product will be a strategic plan to guide the work of the headquarters office of OUIHP, area urban coordinators, and urban Indian organizations participating in IHS programs. The strategic plan will be completed by the end of December 2016. IHS is requesting input on the strategic planning process, the strengths and weaknesses of OUIHP, and the opportunities and threats facing the program. Comments will be used to help develop the mission, goals, objectives, and strategies to be included in the strategic plan.

In compliance with section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, which requires 30 days for public comment on proposed information collection projects, the Indian Health Service (IHS) is submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for an extension for this collection, titled, ``Application for Participation in the IHS Scholarship Program (OMB Control Number 0917- 0006),'' with an expiration date of September 30, 2016. This proposed information collection project was previously published in the Federal Register (81 FR 44030) on July 6, 2016, and allowed 60 days for public comment, as required by 3506(c)(2)(A). The IHS received no comments regarding this collection. The purpose of this notice is to allow 30 days for public comment to be submitted directly to OMB. Proposed Collection: Title: ``Application for Participation in the IHS Scholarship Program,'' OMB Control No. 0917-0006. Type of Information Collection Request: Extension of the currently approved information collection ``Application for Participation in the IHS Scholarship Program,'' OMB Control No. 0917-0006. Form Number(s): IHS- 856-3, IHS-856-5 through 856-19, IHS-856-21 through 856-24, IHS-817, and IHS-818 are retained for use by the IHS Scholarship Program (IHSSP) as part of this current information collection request. Reporting forms are found on the IHS Web site at www.ihs.gov/scholarship. Need and Use of Information Collection: The IHS Scholarship Branch needs this information for program administration and uses the information to: solicit, process, and award IHS Pre-graduate, Preparatory, and/or Health Professions Scholarship recipients; monitor the academic performance of recipients; and to place recipients at payback sites. The IHSSP application is electronically available on the internet at the IHS Web site at: https://www.ihs.gov/scholarship/applynow/. Affected Public: Individuals, not-for-profit institutions and State, local or Tribal Governments. Type of Respondents: Students pursuing health care professions. The table below provides: Types of data collection instruments, Estimated number of respondents, Number of responses per respondent, Annual number of responses, Average burden hour per response, and Total annual burden hours.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which requires 30 days for public comment on proposed information collection projects, the Indian Health Service (IHS) is submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for an extension of a previously approved collection of information titled, ``Indian Health Service Medical Staff Credentials and Privileges Files,'' OMB Control Number 0917-0009, which expires August 31, 2016. This proposed information collection project was previously published in the Federal Register (81 FR 23318) on April 20, 2016, and allowed 60 days for public comment. The IHS received no public comments regarding this collection. The purpose of this notice is to allow 30 days for public comment to be submitted directly to OMB. Proposed Collection: Title: 0917-0009, ``Indian Health Service Medical Staff Credentials and Privileges Files.'' Type of Information Collection Request: Extension, without revision, of currently approved information collection, 0917-0009, ``Indian Health Service Medical Staff Credentials and Privileges Files.'' Form Numbers: 0917-0009. Need and Use of Information Collection: This collection of information is used to evaluate individual health care providers applying for medical staff privileges at IHS health care facilities. The IHS operates health care facilities that provide health care services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. To provide these services, the IHS employs (directly and under contract) several categories of health care providers including: Physicians (M.D. and D.O.), dentists, psychologists, optometrists, podiatrists, audiologists, physician assistants, certified registered nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse midwives. IHS policy specifically requires physicians and dentists to be members of the health care facility medical staff where they practice. Health care providers become medical staff members, depending on the local health care facility's capabilities and medical staff bylaws. There are three types of IHS medical staff applicants: (1) Health care providers applying for direct employment with IHS; (2) contractors who will not seek to become IHS employees; and (3) employed IHS health care providers who seek to transfer between IHS health care facilities. National health care standards developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Joint Commission, and other accrediting organizations require health care facilities to review, evaluate and verify the credentials, training and experience of medical staff applicants prior to granting medical staff privileges. In order to meet these standards, IHS health care facilities require all medical staff applicants to provide information concerning their education, training, licensure, and work experience and any adverse disciplinary actions taken against them. This information is then verified with references supplied by the applicant and may include: Former employers, educational institutions, licensure and certification boards, the American Medical Association, the Federation of State Medical Boards, the National Practitioner Data Bank, and the applicants themselves. In addition to the initial granting of medical staff membership and clinical privileges, the Joint Commission standards require that a review of the medical staff be conducted not less than every two years. This review evaluates the current competence of the medical staff and verifies whether they are maintaining the licensure or certification requirements of their specialty. The medical staff credentials and privileges records are maintained at the health care facility where the health care provider is a medical staff member. The establishment of these records at IHS health care facilities is a Joint Commission requirement. Prior to the establishment of this Joint Commission requirement, the degree to which medical staff applications were maintained at all health care facilities in the United States that are verified for completeness and accuracy varied greatly across the Nation. The application process has been streamlined and is using information technology to make the application electronically available on the Internet. The application may be found at the IHS.gov Web site address: https://www.ihs.gov/IHM/ index.cfm?module=dsp_ihm_pc_p3c1_ex#ManualExhibit3-1-A. Affected Public: Individuals and households. Type of Respondents: Individuals. The table below provides: Types of data collection instruments, Estimated number of respondents, Number of annual number of responses, Average burden per response, and Total annual burden hours.

In compliance the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Indian Health Service (IHS) invites the general public to comment on the information collection titled, ``Application for Participation in the IHS Scholarship Program,'' Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control No. 0917-0006. IHS is requesting OMB to approve an extension for this collection, which expires on September 30, 2016.

This document extends due dates in the Fiscal Year 2016 Tribal Management Grant Program funding announcement that was published in the Federal Register (81 FR 20396) on April 7, 2016. Several key dates have been extended.