Announcement of Requirements and Registration for Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Challenge, 49321-49323 [2014-19754]

Download as PDF emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 161 / Wednesday, August 20, 2014 / Notices invited to serve for four-year terms. The next cycle of selection of candidates will begin in the Winter of 2014, for selection of potential nominees to replace members whose terms will end on June 30, 2015. Selection of members is based on candidates’ qualifications to contribute to the accomplishment of HICPAC’s objectives (https://www.cdc.gov/hicpac/ about.html). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will give close attention to balanced geographic distribution and to minority and female representation so long as the effectiveness of the Committee is not impaired. Appointments shall be made without discrimination on the basis of age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, HIV status, disability, and cultural, religious, or socioeconomic status. Consideration is given to a broad representation of geographic areas within the U.S., with diverse representation of both genders, ethnic and racial minorities, and persons with disabilities. Nominees must be U.S. citizens, and cannot be full-time employees of the U.S. Government. Candidates should submit the following items: • Current curriculum vitae, including complete contact information (name, affiliation, mailing address, telephone numbers, email address). • At least one letter of recommendation stating the qualifications of the candidate from a person not employed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Candidates may submit letter(s) from current HHS employees if they wish, but at least one letter must be submitted by a person not employed by HHS. Nominations should be submitted (postmarked or received) by September 30, 2014. Electronic submissions: You may submit nominations, including attachments, electronically to hicpac@cdc.gov. Regular, Express or Overnight Mail: Written nominations may be submitted to the following addressee only: Erin Stone, M.S., HICPAC, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, NCEZID, CDC, 1600 Clifton Road NE., Mailstop A–07, Atlanta, Georgia 30333. Telephone and facsimile submissions cannot be accepted. Nominations may be submitted by the candidate him- or herself, or by the person/organization recommending the candidate. The Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, has been delegated the authority to sign Federal Register notices pertaining to announcements of VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:44 Aug 19, 2014 Jkt 232001 meetings and other committee management activities, for both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Gary Johnson, Acting Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [FR Doc. 2014–19756 Filed 8–19–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4163–18–P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Announcement of Requirements and Registration for Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Challenge Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) located within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces the launch of the Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Challenge on August 20, 2014. The challenge will be open until October 10, 2014. Million Hearts® is a national initiative to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. Achieving this goal means that 10 million more Americans must have their blood pressure under control. Million Hearts® is working to control high blood pressure through clinical approaches, such as using health information technology to its fullest potential and integrating teambased approaches to care, as well as community approaches, such as strengthening tobacco control, and lowering sodium consumption. For more information about the initiative, visit www.millionhearts.hhs.gov. To support improved blood pressure control, HHS/CDC is announcing the 2014 Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Challenge. The challenge will bring prestige to organizations that invest in hypertension control, improve understanding of successful implementation strategies at the health system level, and motivate practices and health systems to strengthen their hypertension control efforts. The challenge will identify clinicians, clinical practices, and health systems that have exceptional rates of hypertension control and recognize them as Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Champions. To support SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 49321 improved quality of care delivered to patients with hypertension, Million Hearts® will document the systems, processes, and staffing that contribute to the exceptional blood pressure control rates achieved by Champions. Champions will receive a cash prize and local and national recognition. DATES: Contest begins on August 20, 2014 and ends on October 10, 2014. Office of Management and Budget control number 0920–0976 expires 7/31/2016. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Ladd, Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy NE., Mailstop F–72, Atlanta, GA 30341, Telephone: 770–488–2424, Fax: 770–488–8151, Attention: Hypertension Control Challenge, Email: millionhearts@cdc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The challenge is authorized by Public Law 111–358, the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education and Science Reauthorization Act of 2010 (COMPETES Act). Subject of Challenge Competition: Entrants of the Million Hearts Hypertension Control Challenge will be asked to submit two point-in-time measures of the hypertension control rate for the practice’s or health system’s hypertensive population. One measure is for the previous 12 month period and the second for the previous 12 to 24 months. Entrants will also be asked to provide the prevalence of hypertension in their population and describe the sustainable systems used by the practice or health system that support continued improvements in blood pressure control and some population characteristics. Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Competition: To be eligible to win a prize under this challenge, an individual or entity— (1) Shall have completed the nomination form in its entirety to participate in the competition under the rules promulgated by HHS/CDC; (2) Shall have complied with all the requirements in this section and; a. Be a U.S. licensed clinician, practicing in any U.S. setting, who provides continuing care for adult patients with hypertension. The individual must be a citizen or permanent resident of the U.S. b. Or be a U.S. incorporated medical practice, defined as any practice with two or more U.S. licensed clinicians who by formal arrangement share responsibility for a common panel of E:\FR\FM\20AUN1.SGM 20AUN1 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES 49322 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 161 / Wednesday, August 20, 2014 / Notices patients, practice at the same physical location or street address, and provide continuing medical care for adult patients with hypertension; c. Or be a health system, incorporated in and maintaining a primary place of business in the U.S. that provides continuing medical care for adult patients with hypertension. We encourage large health systems (those that are comprised of a large number of geographically dispersed clinics and/or have multiple hospital locations) to consider having one or a few of the highest performing clinics or regional affiliates apply individually instead of the health system applying as a whole; (3) Must treat all adult patients with hypertension in the practice seeking care, not a selected subgroup of patients; (4) Must have a data management system (electronic or paper) that allows HHS/CDC or their contractor to check data submitted; (5) Must treat a minimum of 500 adult patients annually and have a hypertension control rate of at least 70%; (6) May not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within the scope of their employment; (7) Shall not be an HHS employee working on their applications or submissions during assigned duty hours; (8) Shall not be an employee or contractor at CDC; (9) Federal grantees may not use Federal funds to develop COMPETES Act challenge applications unless consistent with the purpose of their grant award and specifically requested to do so due to competition design; (10) Federal contractors may not use Federal funds from a contract to develop COMPETES Act challenge applications or to fund efforts in support of a COMPETES Act challenge; (11) Must agree to participate in a data validation process to be conducted by a reputable independent contractor. To the extent applicable law allows, data will be kept confidential by the contractor and will be shared with the CDC in aggregate form only i.e., the hypertension control rate for the practice not individual hypertension values; (12) Individual nominees and individuals in a group practice must be free from convictions or pending investigations of criminal and health care fraud offenses such as felony health care fraud, patient abuse or neglect; felony convictions for other health carerelated fraud, theft, or other financial misconduct; and felony convictions relating to unlawful manufacture, distribution, prescription, or dispensing VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:44 Aug 19, 2014 Jkt 232001 of controlled substances as verified through the Office of the Inspector General List of Excluded Individuals and Entities. https://oig.hhs.gov/ exclusions/background.asp. Individual nominees must be free from serious sanctions, such as those for misuse or mis-prescribing of prescription medications. Such serious sanctions will be determined at the discretion of the agency consistent with CDC’s public health mission. CDC’s contractor may perform background checks on individual clinicians or medical practices. (13) Health systems must have a written policy in place that conducts periodic background checks as described in (12) on all providers and takes appropriate action accordingly. In addition, a health system background check will be conducted by CDC or a CDC contractor that includes a search for The Joint Commission sanctions and current investigations for serious institutional misconduct (e.g., attorney general investigation). CDC’s contractor may also request the policy and any supporting information deemed necessary. (14) Champions previously recognized through the 2013 Million Hearts Hypertension Control Challenge retain their designation as a ‘‘Champion’’ and are not eligible to be named a Champion in the 2014 challenge. (15) Must agree to accept the prize and be recognized if selected and agree to participate in an interview to develop a success story that describes the systems and processes that support hypertension control among patients. Champions will be recognized on the Million Hearts® Web site. Strategies used by Champions that support hypertension control may be written into a success story, placed on the Million Hearts® Web site, and attributed to Champions. An individual or entity shall not be deemed ineligible because the individual or entity used Federal facilities or consulted with Federal employees during a competition if the facilities and employees are made available to all individuals and entities participating in the competition on an equal basis. By participating in this challenge, an individual or organization agrees to assume any and all risks related to participating in the challenge. Individuals or organizations also agree to waive claims against the Federal Government and its related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, when participating in the challenge, including claims for injury; death; PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 damage; or loss of property, money, or profits, and including those risks caused by negligence or other causes. By participating in this challenge, individuals or organizations agree to protect the Federal Government against third party claims for damages arising from or related to challenge activities. Individuals or organizations are not required to hold liability insurance related to participation in this challenge. Federal organizations will be offered a simultaneous opportunity to participate in a separate but similar challenge, and will be eligible for recognition only. No cash prize will be awarded. Registration Process for Participants: To participate, interested parties will navigate to www.millionhearts.hhs.gov. On this site, nominees will find the rules and guidelines for participating as well as access to the entry form. Information required of the nominees on the nomination form includes: • The size of the nominee’s adult patient population, a summary of known patient demographics (e.g., age distribution), and any noteworthy patient population characteristics. • The number of the nominee’s adult patients who were seen during the past year and had a hypertension diagnosis (i.e., hypertension prevalence). • The nominee’s current hypertension control rate for their hypertensive population. In addition, the hypertension control rate during the previous year is required. In determining the hypertension control rate, CDC defines ‘‘hypertension control’’ as a blood pressure reading <140 mmHg systolic and <90 mmHg diastolic among patients with a diagnosis of hypertension. Million Hearts® supports use of the National Quality Forum (NQF) Measure #0018 for controlling high blood pressure or similar definitions. Details about NQF 0018 can be found at https:// www.qualityforum.org/QPS/0018. • Sustainable clinic systems or processes that support hypertension control. These may include provider or patient incentives, dashboards, staffing characteristics, electronic record keeping systems, reminder or alert systems, clinician reporting, service modifications, etc. The hypertension control rate should be for the provider’s or health system’s entire adult hypertensive patient population, not limited to a sample. Examples of ineligible data submissions include hypertension control rates that are limited to treatment cohorts from research studies or pilot studies, patients limited to a specific age range E:\FR\FM\20AUN1.SGM 20AUN1 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 161 / Wednesday, August 20, 2014 / Notices (such as 18–35), or patients enrolled in limited scale quality improvement projects. The estimated burden for completing the nomination form is 30 minutes. Amount of the Prize: Up to a total of 20 of highest scoring individual clinicians, clinical practices or health systems will be recognized as Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Champions and will receive a cash award of $2,000. A maximum of $40,000 will be awarded in this challenge. Payment of the Prize: Prizes awarded under this challenge will be paid by electronic funds transfer and may be subject to Federal income taxes. HHS will comply with the Internal Revenue Service withholding and reporting requirements, where applicable. Basis Upon Which Winner Will Be Selected: The nomination will be scored based on hypertension control rate (95% of score); and sustainable systems in the practice that support hypertension control (5% of score). Nominees with the highest score will be required to participate in a two-phase process to verify their data. Nominees who are non-compliant or nonresponsive with the data requests or timelines will be removed from further consideration. Phase 1 includes verification of the hypertension prevalence and blood pressure control rate data submitted and a background check. For nominees whose Phase 1 data is verified as accurate, phase 2 consists of a medical chart review. National Quality Forum Measure #0018 for controlling high blood pressure will be used to evaluate the submitted data. Details about NQF 0018 can be found at https://www.qualityforum.org/QPS/0018. A CDC-sponsored panel of three to five experts consisting of HHS/CDC staff will review the nominations that pass the verification to select Champions. Final selection will take into account all the information from the nomination form, the background check, and data verification. Geographic location and population treated may be used to break ties in the event of tie scores at any point in the selection process. Some Champions will participate in a post-challenge telephone interview. The interview will include questions about the strategies employed by the individual or organization to achieve high rates of hypertension control, including barriers and facilitators for those strategies. The interview will focus on systems and processes and should not require preparation time by the Champion. The estimated time for the interview is two hours, which VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:30 Aug 19, 2014 Jkt 232001 includes time to review the interview protocol with the interviewer, respond to the interview questions, and review a summary data about the Champion’s practices. The summary will be written as a success story and will be posted on the Million Hearts® Web site. Additional Information: Information received from nominees will be stored in a password protected file on a secure server. The challenge Web site may post the number of nominations received but will not include information about individual nominees. The database of information submitted by nominees will not be posted on the Web site. Information collected from nominees will include general details, such as the business name, address, and contact information of the nominee. This type of information is generally publically available. The nomination will collect and store only aggregate clinical data through the nomination process; no individual identifiable patient data will be collected or stored. Confidential or propriety data, clearly marked as such, will be secured to the full extent allowable by law. Information for selected Champions, such as the provider, practice, or health system’s name, location, hypertension control rate, and clinic practices that support hypertension control will be shared through press releases, the challenge Web site, and Million Hearts® and HHS/CDC resources. Summary data on the types of systems and processes that all nominees use to control hypertension may be shared in documents or other communication products that describe generally used practices for successful hypertension control. HHS/CDC will use the summary data only as described. Compliance With Rules and Contacting Contest Winners: Finalists and Champions must comply with all terms and conditions of these official rules, and winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements herein. The initial finalists will be notified by email, telephone, or mail after the date of the judging. Privacy: Personal information provided by entrants on the nomination form through the challenge Web site will be used to contact selected finalists. Information is not collected for commercial marketing. Winners are permitted to cite that they won this challenge. The names, cities, and states of selected Champions will be made available in promotional materials and at recognition events. General Conditions: PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 49323 The HHS/CDC reserves the right to cancel, suspend, and/or modify the challenge, or any part of it, for any reason, at HHS/CDC’s sole discretion. Award Approving Official: Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Authority: 15 U.S.C. 3719. Dated: August 15, 2014. Ron A. Otten, Acting Deputy Associate Director for Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [FR Doc. 2014–19754 Filed 8–19–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4163–18–P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS–7033–N] Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Programs; Meeting of the Advisory Panel on Outreach and Education (APOE), September 12, 2014 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. ACTION: Notice of meeting. AGENCY: This notice announces a meeting of the Advisory Panel on Outreach and Education (APOE) (the Panel) in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The Panel advises and makes recommendations to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of consumer education strategies concerning the Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). This meeting is open to the public. DATES: Meeting Date: Friday, September 12, 2014, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. eastern daylight time (e.d.t.). Deadline for Meeting Registration, Presentations and Comments: Friday, August 29, 2014, 5:00 p.m., e.d.t. Deadline for Requesting Special Accommodations: Friday, August 29, 2014, 5:00 p.m., e.d.t. ADDRESSES: Meeting Location: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue SW., Room 738 G, Conference Room, Washington, DC 20201. SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\20AUN1.SGM 20AUN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 161 (Wednesday, August 20, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49321-49323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-19754]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Announcement of Requirements and Registration for Million 
Hearts[supreg] Hypertension Control Challenge

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) located 
within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces the 
launch of the Million Hearts[supreg] Hypertension Control Challenge on 
August 20, 2014. The challenge will be open until October 10, 2014.
    Million Hearts[supreg] is a national initiative to prevent 1 
million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. Achieving this goal means 
that 10 million more Americans must have their blood pressure under 
control. Million Hearts[supreg] is working to control high blood 
pressure through clinical approaches, such as using health information 
technology to its fullest potential and integrating team-based 
approaches to care, as well as community approaches, such as 
strengthening tobacco control, and lowering sodium consumption. For 
more information about the initiative, visit www.millionhearts.hhs.gov.
    To support improved blood pressure control, HHS/CDC is announcing 
the 2014 Million Hearts[supreg] Hypertension Control Challenge. The 
challenge will bring prestige to organizations that invest in 
hypertension control, improve understanding of successful 
implementation strategies at the health system level, and motivate 
practices and health systems to strengthen their hypertension control 
efforts.
    The challenge will identify clinicians, clinical practices, and 
health systems that have exceptional rates of hypertension control and 
recognize them as Million Hearts[supreg] Hypertension Control 
Champions. To support improved quality of care delivered to patients 
with hypertension, Million Hearts[supreg] will document the systems, 
processes, and staffing that contribute to the exceptional blood 
pressure control rates achieved by Champions. Champions will receive a 
cash prize and local and national recognition.

DATES: Contest begins on August 20, 2014 and ends on October 10, 2014. 
Office of Management and Budget control number 0920-0976 expires 7/31/
2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Ladd, Division for Heart Disease 
and Stroke Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention 
and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 
Buford Hwy NE., Mailstop F-72, Atlanta, GA 30341, Telephone: 770-488-
2424, Fax: 770-488-8151, Attention: Hypertension Control Challenge, 
Email: millionhearts@cdc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The challenge is authorized by Public Law 
111-358, the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote 
Excellence in Technology, Education and Science Reauthorization Act of 
2010 (COMPETES Act).
    Subject of Challenge Competition:
    Entrants of the Million Hearts Hypertension Control Challenge will 
be asked to submit two point-in-time measures of the hypertension 
control rate for the practice's or health system's hypertensive 
population. One measure is for the previous 12 month period and the 
second for the previous 12 to 24 months. Entrants will also be asked to 
provide the prevalence of hypertension in their population and describe 
the sustainable systems used by the practice or health system that 
support continued improvements in blood pressure control and some 
population characteristics.
    Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Competition:
    To be eligible to win a prize under this challenge, an individual 
or entity--
    (1) Shall have completed the nomination form in its entirety to 
participate in the competition under the rules promulgated by HHS/CDC;
    (2) Shall have complied with all the requirements in this section 
and;
    a. Be a U.S. licensed clinician, practicing in any U.S. setting, 
who provides continuing care for adult patients with hypertension. The 
individual must be a citizen or permanent resident of the U.S.
    b. Or be a U.S. incorporated medical practice, defined as any 
practice with two or more U.S. licensed clinicians who by formal 
arrangement share responsibility for a common panel of

[[Page 49322]]

patients, practice at the same physical location or street address, and 
provide continuing medical care for adult patients with hypertension;
    c. Or be a health system, incorporated in and maintaining a primary 
place of business in the U.S. that provides continuing medical care for 
adult patients with hypertension. We encourage large health systems 
(those that are comprised of a large number of geographically dispersed 
clinics and/or have multiple hospital locations) to consider having one 
or a few of the highest performing clinics or regional affiliates apply 
individually instead of the health system applying as a whole;
    (3) Must treat all adult patients with hypertension in the practice 
seeking care, not a selected subgroup of patients;
    (4) Must have a data management system (electronic or paper) that 
allows HHS/CDC or their contractor to check data submitted;
    (5) Must treat a minimum of 500 adult patients annually and have a 
hypertension control rate of at least 70%;
    (6) May not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within 
the scope of their employment;
    (7) Shall not be an HHS employee working on their applications or 
submissions during assigned duty hours;
    (8) Shall not be an employee or contractor at CDC;
    (9) Federal grantees may not use Federal funds to develop COMPETES 
Act challenge applications unless consistent with the purpose of their 
grant award and specifically requested to do so due to competition 
design;
    (10) Federal contractors may not use Federal funds from a contract 
to develop COMPETES Act challenge applications or to fund efforts in 
support of a COMPETES Act challenge;
    (11) Must agree to participate in a data validation process to be 
conducted by a reputable independent contractor. To the extent 
applicable law allows, data will be kept confidential by the contractor 
and will be shared with the CDC in aggregate form only i.e., the 
hypertension control rate for the practice not individual hypertension 
values;
    (12) Individual nominees and individuals in a group practice must 
be free from convictions or pending investigations of criminal and 
health care fraud offenses such as felony health care fraud, patient 
abuse or neglect; felony convictions for other health care-related 
fraud, theft, or other financial misconduct; and felony convictions 
relating to unlawful manufacture, distribution, prescription, or 
dispensing of controlled substances as verified through the Office of 
the Inspector General List of Excluded Individuals and Entities. https://oig.hhs.gov/exclusions/background.asp. Individual nominees must be 
free from serious sanctions, such as those for misuse or mis-
prescribing of prescription medications. Such serious sanctions will be 
determined at the discretion of the agency consistent with CDC's public 
health mission. CDC's contractor may perform background checks on 
individual clinicians or medical practices.
    (13) Health systems must have a written policy in place that 
conducts periodic background checks as described in (12) on all 
providers and takes appropriate action accordingly. In addition, a 
health system background check will be conducted by CDC or a CDC 
contractor that includes a search for The Joint Commission sanctions 
and current investigations for serious institutional misconduct (e.g., 
attorney general investigation). CDC's contractor may also request the 
policy and any supporting information deemed necessary.
    (14) Champions previously recognized through the 2013 Million 
Hearts Hypertension Control Challenge retain their designation as a 
``Champion'' and are not eligible to be named a Champion in the 2014 
challenge.
    (15) Must agree to accept the prize and be recognized if selected 
and agree to participate in an interview to develop a success story 
that describes the systems and processes that support hypertension 
control among patients. Champions will be recognized on the Million 
Hearts[supreg] Web site. Strategies used by Champions that support 
hypertension control may be written into a success story, placed on the 
Million Hearts[supreg] Web site, and attributed to Champions.
    An individual or entity shall not be deemed ineligible because the 
individual or entity used Federal facilities or consulted with Federal 
employees during a competition if the facilities and employees are made 
available to all individuals and entities participating in the 
competition on an equal basis.
    By participating in this challenge, an individual or organization 
agrees to assume any and all risks related to participating in the 
challenge. Individuals or organizations also agree to waive claims 
against the Federal Government and its related entities, except in the 
case of willful misconduct, when participating in the challenge, 
including claims for injury; death; damage; or loss of property, money, 
or profits, and including those risks caused by negligence or other 
causes.
    By participating in this challenge, individuals or organizations 
agree to protect the Federal Government against third party claims for 
damages arising from or related to challenge activities.
    Individuals or organizations are not required to hold liability 
insurance related to participation in this challenge.
    Federal organizations will be offered a simultaneous opportunity to 
participate in a separate but similar challenge, and will be eligible 
for recognition only. No cash prize will be awarded.
    Registration Process for Participants:
    To participate, interested parties will navigate to 
www.millionhearts.hhs.gov. On this site, nominees will find the rules 
and guidelines for participating as well as access to the entry form. 
Information required of the nominees on the nomination form includes:
     The size of the nominee's adult patient population, a 
summary of known patient demographics (e.g., age distribution), and any 
noteworthy patient population characteristics.
     The number of the nominee's adult patients who were seen 
during the past year and had a hypertension diagnosis (i.e., 
hypertension prevalence).
     The nominee's current hypertension control rate for their 
hypertensive population. In addition, the hypertension control rate 
during the previous year is required. In determining the hypertension 
control rate, CDC defines ``hypertension control'' as a blood pressure 
reading <140 mmHg systolic and <90 mmHg diastolic among patients with a 
diagnosis of hypertension. Million Hearts[supreg] supports use of the 
National Quality Forum (NQF) Measure 0018 for controlling high 
blood pressure or similar definitions. Details about NQF 0018 can be 
found at https://www.qualityforum.org/QPS/0018.
     Sustainable clinic systems or processes that support 
hypertension control. These may include provider or patient incentives, 
dashboards, staffing characteristics, electronic record keeping 
systems, reminder or alert systems, clinician reporting, service 
modifications, etc.
    The hypertension control rate should be for the provider's or 
health system's entire adult hypertensive patient population, not 
limited to a sample. Examples of ineligible data submissions include 
hypertension control rates that are limited to treatment cohorts from 
research studies or pilot studies, patients limited to a specific age 
range

[[Page 49323]]

(such as 18-35), or patients enrolled in limited scale quality 
improvement projects.
    The estimated burden for completing the nomination form is 30 
minutes.
    Amount of the Prize:
    Up to a total of 20 of highest scoring individual clinicians, 
clinical practices or health systems will be recognized as Million 
Hearts[supreg] Hypertension Control Champions and will receive a cash 
award of $2,000. A maximum of $40,000 will be awarded in this 
challenge.
    Payment of the Prize:
    Prizes awarded under this challenge will be paid by electronic 
funds transfer and may be subject to Federal income taxes. HHS will 
comply with the Internal Revenue Service withholding and reporting 
requirements, where applicable.
    Basis Upon Which Winner Will Be Selected:
    The nomination will be scored based on hypertension control rate 
(95% of score); and sustainable systems in the practice that support 
hypertension control (5% of score).
    Nominees with the highest score will be required to participate in 
a two-phase process to verify their data. Nominees who are non-
compliant or non-responsive with the data requests or timelines will be 
removed from further consideration. Phase 1 includes verification of 
the hypertension prevalence and blood pressure control rate data 
submitted and a background check. For nominees whose Phase 1 data is 
verified as accurate, phase 2 consists of a medical chart review. 
National Quality Forum Measure 0018 for controlling high blood 
pressure will be used to evaluate the submitted data. Details about NQF 
0018 can be found at https://www.qualityforum.org/QPS/0018.
    A CDC-sponsored panel of three to five experts consisting of HHS/
CDC staff will review the nominations that pass the verification to 
select Champions. Final selection will take into account all the 
information from the nomination form, the background check, and data 
verification. Geographic location and population treated may be used to 
break ties in the event of tie scores at any point in the selection 
process.
    Some Champions will participate in a post-challenge telephone 
interview. The interview will include questions about the strategies 
employed by the individual or organization to achieve high rates of 
hypertension control, including barriers and facilitators for those 
strategies. The interview will focus on systems and processes and 
should not require preparation time by the Champion. The estimated time 
for the interview is two hours, which includes time to review the 
interview protocol with the interviewer, respond to the interview 
questions, and review a summary data about the Champion's practices. 
The summary will be written as a success story and will be posted on 
the Million Hearts[supreg] Web site.
    Additional Information:
    Information received from nominees will be stored in a password 
protected file on a secure server. The challenge Web site may post the 
number of nominations received but will not include information about 
individual nominees. The database of information submitted by nominees 
will not be posted on the Web site. Information collected from nominees 
will include general details, such as the business name, address, and 
contact information of the nominee. This type of information is 
generally publically available. The nomination will collect and store 
only aggregate clinical data through the nomination process; no 
individual identifiable patient data will be collected or stored. 
Confidential or propriety data, clearly marked as such, will be secured 
to the full extent allowable by law.
    Information for selected Champions, such as the provider, practice, 
or health system's name, location, hypertension control rate, and 
clinic practices that support hypertension control will be shared 
through press releases, the challenge Web site, and Million 
Hearts[supreg] and HHS/CDC resources.
    Summary data on the types of systems and processes that all 
nominees use to control hypertension may be shared in documents or 
other communication products that describe generally used practices for 
successful hypertension control. HHS/CDC will use the summary data only 
as described.
    Compliance With Rules and Contacting Contest Winners:
    Finalists and Champions must comply with all terms and conditions 
of these official rules, and winning is contingent upon fulfilling all 
requirements herein. The initial finalists will be notified by email, 
telephone, or mail after the date of the judging.
    Privacy:
    Personal information provided by entrants on the nomination form 
through the challenge Web site will be used to contact selected 
finalists. Information is not collected for commercial marketing. 
Winners are permitted to cite that they won this challenge.
    The names, cities, and states of selected Champions will be made 
available in promotional materials and at recognition events.
    General Conditions:
    The HHS/CDC reserves the right to cancel, suspend, and/or modify 
the challenge, or any part of it, for any reason, at HHS/CDC's sole 
discretion.
    Award Approving Official: Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, Director, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Administrator, Agency 
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 3719.

    Dated: August 15, 2014.
Ron A. Otten,
Acting Deputy Associate Director for Science, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2014-19754 Filed 8-19-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P
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