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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Division of Commissioned Personnel Support (DCPS)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Process for Submitting Practice Hours and Flowchart

A: To obtain practice hours through your primary job duties, you must have a position designated by OPM code 81. To look up if you are in an OPM code 81 position:

  • Log into the Officer Secure Area of the CCMIS website and open your
  • Look under “Current Assignment”, you will see under “Position Primary Job” what your OPM code is, as seen in the example below:

Current Assignment

Chief Pharmacist 1

CIVIL SERVICE SERIES 0660: PHARMACIST

Position Grade: 5

Position Primary Job: 81: CLINICAL PRACTICE, COUNSELING, & ANCILLARY MEDICAL

A: Determine, with your supervisor’s approval, if obtaining the hours will be as an official duty (official duty activity during your normal tour of duty) or as a non-official duty (during your off-duty time).

Official Duty

If you obtain practice hours as an official duty activity (i.e. during duty hours), you may do so through:

  • An MOU between your agency and another non-HHS federal agency (i.e. BOP, ICE, VA, DoD)
  • A TDY to an HHS clinical site
  • A deployment (if gaining practice hours is authorized by CCHQ for the deployment)
  • Obtaining practice hours as part of your duties via a billet addendum (PHS Form 7085 Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  [PDF]).

Non-Official Duty

If you obtain practice hours as a non-official duty activity (i.e. outside of duty hours), you must do so only during off-duty hours or on annual leave.

  • Supervisory and Ethics approval must be documented via an HHS 520, whether the activity is compensated or
  • Performing non-official duties at a federal facility during non-duty hours must be non- compensated to comply with regulations that prohibit dual compensation of federal

A: It depends on how you obtain your practice hours.

I obtain my practice hours:

What form do I submit and where?

As part of my primary duties

Fill and submit the electronic PHS-7047 located in “Forms” in your Officer Secure Area Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov 

As part of an MOU/MOA

Fill and submit the electronic PHS-7047 located in “Forms” in your Officer Secure Area Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov 

Through a TDY to an HHS clinical site

Upload TDY documents using eDOC-U, under the heading “TDY without PO.” Ensure that your supervisor’s signature is on the TDY form/memo.

Fill and submit the electronic PHS-7047 located in “Forms” in your Officer Secure Area Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov 

Through a deployment role that the Readiness and Deployment Branch (RDB) has approved for practice hours

Fill and submit the electronic PHS-7047 located in “Forms” in your Officer Secure Area Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov 

Through adding a billet addendum to include obtaining practice hours as part of my duties.

Submit the PHS 7085 Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  [PDF] form to IHSCorpsinquiries@ihs.gov for Liaison review and signature

Upload the completed PHS 7085 Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  [PDF] forms using eDOC-U under "PHS 7085 Billet/Position Addendum " in your eOPF.

Fill and submit the electronic PHS-7047 located in “Forms” in your Officer Secure Area Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov 

Through an outside activity

Submit the HHS 520 Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  [PDF] to your supervisor. Route the form through your Area Ethics contact for review. Ensure that you upload your approved HHS 520 Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  [PDF] into your eOPF.

Ensure that you report all outside activities annually using the HHS 521 Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  [PDF] to your Area/Office Ethics contact.

Fill and submit the electronic PHS-7047 located in “Forms” in your Officer Secure Area Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov 

practice hours flowchart