Justification for Change

National Hospital Discharge Survey

OMB No. 0920-0212

(Expiration date: 10/31/11)

Request for Non-Substantial Change

Contact Information:

Paul Beatty, Ph.D.

Chief, Ambulatory and Hospital Care Statistics Branch

Division of Health Care Statistics

National Center for Health Statistics/CDC

3311 Toledo Road, Room 3409

Hyattsville, MD 20782

301-458-4090

301-458-4032 (fax)

pbeatty@cdc.gov

August 25, 2009

This submission represents a non-substantial change request to an approved data collection survey (OMB No. 0920-0212), the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS), currently due to expire on 10/31/11. The intention of this change request is to

1. extend the current NHDS survey through 2010 and

2. make no change to the burden.

A. Justification

1. Circumstances Making the Collection of Information Necessary

The currently approved plan was to end the current NHDS in 2009, with the redesigned NHDS beginning in 2010. However, budgetary constraints make it necessary to phase in the redesigned survey over two years (2010 and 2011). In turn, the decision has been made to keep the current survey in the field through 2010 until the redesigned survey can be fully integrated by 2011. Consequently, 2010 will serve as the culminating year for the current NHDS survey and the starting phase of the redesigned NHDS. In light of this change, this non-substantial change request is being submitted to address the current NHDS. A separate revision request will be submitted to provide a report on the pretest for the redesigned NHDS and to describe the field work for the first three years of the redesigned NHDS (2010-2012).

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