Notice2026-03596
Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 24, 2026
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Abstract
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the utility of government information, invites the general public and other Federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project titled Developmental Studies to improve the National Health Care Surveys. The goal of the project is to cover new survey research that will evaluate and improve upon survey design and operations, as well as examine the feasibility and address challenges that may arise with future expansions of the National Health Care Surveys.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 36 (Tuesday, February 24, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 36 (Tuesday, February 24, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8880-8882]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03596]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[60Day-26-1030; Docket No. CDC-2025-0265]
Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and
Recommendations
AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice with comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part
of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the
utility of government information, invites the general public and other
Federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a continuing information
collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This
notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project
titled Developmental Studies to improve the National Health Care
Surveys. The goal of the project is to cover new survey research that
will evaluate and improve upon survey design and operations, as well as
examine the feasibility and address challenges that may arise with
future expansions of the National Health Care Surveys.
DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before April 27, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2025-
0265 by either of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow
the instructions for submitting comments.
<bullet> Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review
Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road
NE, MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and Docket Number. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments
to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
Please note: Submit all comments through the Federal
eRulemaking portal (<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>) or by U.S. mail to the
address listed above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan
and instruments, contact Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection
Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton
Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone: 404-639-7570; Email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d5bab8b795b6b1b6fbb2baa3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="751a1817351611165b121a03">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain approval from
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of
information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires
Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register
concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new
proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of
information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information
collection before submitting the collection to the OMB for approval. To
comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a
proposed data collection as described below.
The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:
1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected;
4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submissions of responses; and
5. Assess information collection costs.
Proposed Project
Developmental Studies to improve the National Health Care Surveys
(OMB Control No. 0920-1030, Exp. 02/28/2026)--Reinstatement--National
Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
Section 306 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C.
242k), as amended, authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human
Services (DHHS), acting through the Division of Health Care Statistics
(DHCS) within NCHS, shall collect statistics on the extent and nature
of illness and disability of the population of the United States.
The DHCS conducts the National Health Care Surveys, a family of
nationally representative surveys of
[[Page 8881]]
encounters and health care providers in inpatient, outpatient,
ambulatory, and post-acute and long-term care settings. This
information collection request (ICR) is for the Reinstatement of a
Generic Clearance to conduct developmental studies to improve this
family of surveys. This three-year clearance period will include
studies to evaluate and improve upon existing survey design and
operations, as well as to examine the feasibility of, and address
challenges that may arise with, future expansions of the National
Health Care Surveys.
Specifically, this request covers developmental research with the
following aims: (1) to explore ways to refine and improve upon existing
survey designs and procedures; and (2) to explore and evaluate proposed
survey designs and alternative approaches to data collection. The goal
of these research studies is to further enhance DHCS existing and
future data collection protocols to increase research capacity and
improve health care data quality for the purpose of monitoring public
health and well-being at the national, state and local levels, thereby
informing health policy decision-making process. The information
collected through this Generic Clearance will not be used to make
generalizable statements about the population of interest or to inform
public policy. However, methodological findings may be reported.
This Generic Clearance would include studies conducted in person,
via the telephone or web surveys, and by postal or electronic mail.
Methods covered would include qualitative (e.g., usability testing,
focus groups, ethnographic studies, and respondent debriefing
questionnaires) and/or quantitative (e.g., pilot tests, pre-tests and
split sample experiments) research methodologies. Examples of studies
to improve existing survey designs and procedures may include
evaluation of incentive approaches to improve recruitment and increase
participation rates; testing of new survey items to obtain additional
data on providers, patients, residents, and their encounters while
minimizing misinterpretation and human error in data collection;
testing data collection in panel surveys; triangulating and validating
survey responses from multiple data sources; assessment of the
feasibility of data retrieval; and development of protocols that will
locate, identify, and collect accurate survey data in the least labor-
intensive and burdensome manner at the sampled practice site.
To explore and evaluate proposed survey designs and alternative
approaches to collecting data, especially with the nationwide adoption
of electronic health records, studies may expand the evaluation of data
extraction of electronic health records and submission via continuity
of care documentation to small/mid-size/large medical providers and
hospital networks, managed care health plans, retail health clinics,
and other inpatient, outpatient, ambulatory, and long-term care
settings that are currently either in-scope or out-of-scope of the
National Health Care Surveys. Research on feasibility, data quality and
respondent burden also may be carried out in the context of developing
new surveys of health care providers and establishments that are
currently out-of-scope of the National Health Care Surveys.
Specific motivations for conducting developmental studies include:
(1) Within the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS), new
clinical groups may be expanded to include dentists, psychologists,
podiatrists, chiropractors, optometrists), mid-level providers, and
allied-health professionals (e.g., certified nursing aides, medical
assistants, radiology technicians, laboratory technicians, pharmacists,
dieticians/nutritionists). Current sampling frames such as those from
the American Medical Association may be obtained and studied, as well
as frames that are not currently in use by NAMCS, such as state and
organizational listings of other licensed providers; (2) Within the
National Study of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Providers, additional
new frames may be sought, developed, and evaluated and data items from
home care agencies, long-term care hospitals, and facilities
exclusively serving individuals with intellectual/developmental
disability may be tested. Similarly, data may be obtained from lists
compiled by states and other organizations. Data about the facilities
as well as residents and their visits will be investigated; (3) In the
inpatient and outpatient care settings, the National Hospital Care
Survey (NHCS) may investigate the addition of facility and patient
information especially as it relates to insurance and electronic
medical records.
The National Health Care Surveys collect critical, accurate data
that are used to produce reliable national estimates--and in recent
years, state-level estimates--of clinical services and of the providers
who delivered those services in inpatient, outpatient, ambulatory, and
long-term care settings. The data from these surveys are used by
providers, policy makers and researchers to address important topics of
interest, including the quality and disparities of care among
populations, epidemiology of medical conditions, diffusion of
technologies, effects of policies and practice guidelines, and changes
in health care over time. Research studies need to be conducted to
improve existing and proposed survey design and procedures of the
National Health Care Surveys, as well as to evaluate alternative data
collection approaches particularly due to the expansion of electronic
health record use, and to develop new sample frames of currently out-
of-scope providers and settings of care.
Average burdens are designed to cover 15-40 minute interviews as
well as 90-minute focus groups, longer on-site visits, and situations
where organizations may be preparing electronic data files. CDC
requests OMB approval for an estimated 3,000 annual burden hours. There
is no cost to respondents other than their time to participate.
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Number of Average burden
Type of respondents Form name Number of responses per per response Total burden
respondents respondent (in hours) hours
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Health Care Providers and Business entities.... Interviews, surveys, focus groups, 2,582 1 1 2,582
experiments (in person, phone,
internet, postal/electronic mail).
Health Care Providers, State/local government Interviews, surveys, focus groups, 167 1 2.5 418
agencies, and business entities. experiments (in person, phone,
internet, postal/electronic mail).
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[[Page 8882]]
Total...................................... ....................................... .............. .............. .............. 3,000
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Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific
Integrity, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2026-03596 Filed 2-23-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P
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