Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces the intention of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) allow the proposed information collection project: ``Development of an Electronic System for Reporting Medication Errors and Adverse Drug Events in Primary Care Practice (MEADERS).'' In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed information collection.

This notice announces the intention of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) allow the proposed information collection project: ``Pilot Study of Proposed Medical Office Surveys on Patient Safety.'' In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed information collection.

This notice announces the intention of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) allow the proposed information collection project: ``Evaluation of a Medication Therapy Management Program to Improve Patient Safety in Medicare Beneficiaries.'' In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed information collection.

This notice announces the intention of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) allow the proposed information collection project: ``Evaluation of the Implementation and Impact of Pay-for- Quality Programs.'' In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed information collection.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is soliciting the submission of instruments or items that measure how well health plans, hospitals, clinicians, and group practices address health literacy issues. Based on a literature review and an assessment of currently available questionnaires, AHRQ identified the need to develop a new health literacy module of the CAHPS[supreg] survey. The intent of the planned module is to examine patients' perspectives on how well health information is communicated to them by healthcare professionals in greater detail than before. The intent of the new module is to provide information to health plans, hospitals, clinicians, group practices, and other interested parties regarding quality of health information delivered to patients. Based on prior work, there are several functional areas that the planned instrument could address. These include the clarity and usability of provided health information related to: (a) Preventive services (e.g., risk and benefits of the service, explanation of screening results; (b) health problems/concerns (e.g., information on how to stay healthy or prevent illness); (c) treatment choices, instructions, or goals (e.g., pros and cons of each treatment option); and (d) medications (e.g., reason for taking medications, instructions on how to take medications, possible side effects). AHRQ is especially interested in measures of patients' assessments of written communications (e.g., instructions for self-care, health promotion materials), and the use and effectiveness of educational techniques to ensure patient's comprehension of health information (e.g., allowing time for questions, repeating information, using visual aids, employing health educators to review treatment plans and follow-up). AHRQ is also interested in measures that assess the quality of services supporting health information delivery such as language assistance (e.g., availability and timeliness of interpreter services, availability of patient education materials in other language), and administrative assistance (e.g., assistance in completing medical paperwork).

This notice announces the intention of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) allow the proposed information collection project: ``Eisenberg Center Voluntary Customer Survey Generic Clearance for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.'' In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed information collection. This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on July 5, 2006 and allowed 60 days for public comment. No public comments were received. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment.

This notice announces the intention of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to allow the proposed information collection project ``Continuance of the Medical Expenditure Panel SurveyHousehold and Medical Provider Component through 2009.'' In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed collection. This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on June 2, 2006 and allowed 60 days for public comment. No public comments were received. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment.

This notice announces the intention of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) allow the proposed information collection project: ``Assessment of Unreimbursed Care among Community Primary Care Physicians.'' In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed information collection.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) invites nominations of individuals qualified to serve as members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (the Task Force). The Task Force, a standing, independent panel of private-sector experts in prevention and primary care, is composed of members appointed to serve for four year terms with an option for reappointment. New members are selected each year to replace (approximately) one fourth of the Task Force members, i.e., those who are completing their appointments. Individuals nominated but not appointed in previous years, as well as those newly nominated, are considered in the annual selection process. Task Force members meet three times a year for two days in the Washington, DC area. Member duties include reviewing and preparing comments (off site) on systematic evidence reviews prior to discussing and making recommendations on preventive services, drafting final recommendation documents, and participating in workgroups on specific topics or methods. AHRQ particularly encourages nominations of women, members of minority populations, and persons with disabilities. Interested individuals and organizations may nominate one or more persons qualified for membership on the Task Force. Qualification Requirements: The mission of the Task Force is to produce evidence-based recommendations on the appropriate screening, counseling, and provision of preventive medication for asymptomatic patients seen in the primary care setting. Therefore, in order to qualify for the Task Force, an applicant or nominee MUST demonstrate the following: 1. Knowledge and experience in the critical evaluation of research published in peer reviewed literature and in the methods of evidence review; 2. Understanding and experience in the application of synthesized evidence to clinical decision-making and/or policy; 3. Expertise in disease prevention and health promotion; 4. Ability to work collaboratively with peers; and, 5. Clinical expertise in the primary health care of children and/or adults, and/or expertise in counseling and behavioral interventions for primary care patients. Some Task Force members without primary health care clinical experience may be selected based on their expertise in methodological issues such as medical decision making, clinical epidemiology, behavioral medicine, and health economics. Strongest consideration will be given to individuals who are recognized nationally or internationally for scientific leadership within their field of expertise. Applicants must have no substantial conflicts of interest that would impair in the scientific integrity of the work of the Task Force including financial, intellectual, or other conflicts.

This notice announces the intention of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) allow the proposed information collection as part of an AHRQ contract for ``Privacy and Security Solutions for Interoperable Electronic Health Information Exchange'' (the Assessment). In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), AHRQ is submitting a request to OMB for emergency review. AHRQ is requesting an emergency review of this collection because the information is needed for subsequent health information technology projects later this year. Because subcontracts were solicited and awarded to the States, it was not possible to accurately quantify the public burden earlier this year. Data collection subcontract proposals were solicited from States and until they were reviewed, selected, awarded and accepted, it was not possible to accurately quantify the public burden earlier.

In accordance with section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, this notice announces a meeting of the Citizens' Health Care Working Group (the Working Group) mandated by section 1014 of the Medicare Modernization Act.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is seeking nominations for members of an AHRQ-convened Quality Indicators Workgroup on Composite Measures for the Inpatient Quality Indicators (IQIs) and the Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) as part of a general workgroup on composite measures. The AHRQ QI Composite Measures General Workgroup and subsequent IQI and PSI sub-workgroups are being formed as part of a structured approach for developing composite measures from the IQI and PSI software tools for public reporting of quality of hospital care at the national and state level. The purpose of this project is to obtain input from interested organizations and individuals on the development of composite quality measures based on hospital discharge data, specifically using the IQI and PSI measures. The Workgroups will evaluate appropriate technical and methodological approaches currently available and will discuss and suggest strategies as to what composite measure methodology would best fit QI user needs. As part of this effort and using the AHRQ PSIs and IQIs, the Workgroup members will be addressing several key issues for the development of composite measures, including but not limited to: Identifying and defining the quality concept that each composite is intended to measure; Suggesting and considering the individual quality indicators that should be included in the composite; The manner of weighting with which individual quality indicators could or should be combined; Evaluation of using condition-specific quality of care composites (e.g., for cardiovascular disease, or diabetes) or population-specific composites (e.g., pediatrics, women, or geriatrics) or domain specific composites (e.g., surgical, or infections); and Discussion of the methodological considerations which are appropriate or important when combining quality indicators and the considerations when composites are used for publicly reporting data. For additional information about the AHRQ Quality Indicators, please visit the AHRQ Quality Indicators Web site at https:// www.qualityindicators.ahrq.gov. Specifically, the AHRQ QI Composite Measures General Workgroup will consist of up to 15 individuals who have expertise in one or more of the following areas: Statistical methods, hospital quality improvement and patient safety, health services research, and administrative data. To the extent possible, this Workgroup will represent a variety of stakeholder perspectives, specifically including(1) Consumers, (2) healthcare purchasers, (3) quality improvement organizations, (4) researchers, (5) healthcare professionals, (6) state-based organizations, and (7) Federal health care provider organizations. The Workgroup will be further divided into two sub-workgroups to focus on the IQIs and the PSIs separately. Each sub-workgroup will have a series of conference calls to share perspectives, discuss the technical and policy issues surrounding composite measures for each module and will then summarize their discussions for presentation to the AHRQ QI Composite Measures General Workgroup. The AHRQ QI Composite Measures General Workgroup will provide responses to the sub-workgroups' findings. AHRQ will then develop a summary of the discussion in a technical report. This report will be made available for public comment.

We are considering how to implement the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (Act), including such questions as how the Act might be applied to various organizational configurations and how best to ensure that the statute's fundamental confidentiality objectives are achieved. To help us better understand the thinking and plans of providers that are interested in seeking out patient safety organization (PSO) services, and of entities that anticipate establishing such an organization, this notice invites the public to provide information that may assist the Agency, either in person or by telephone call-in, at three related public meetings.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) invites individuals and organizations to nominate primary and secondary prevention topics pertaining to clinical preventive services that they would like the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) to consider for review. A list of topics that have been recently reviewed or are currently under review by the USPSTF is listed below in the supplementary information section. The USPSTF is an independent panel of experts that makes evidence- based recommendations regarding the provision of clinical preventive services. Clinical preventive services include screening, counseling and preventive medications. The USPSTF makes recommendations about preventive services for asymptomatic peoplepeople without recognized signs or symptoms of the specific conditions targeted by the preventive service. Topics can be nominated by individuals, organizations, evidence- based practice centers (EPC) and USPSTF members. The USPSTF will consider nominations and prioritize topics for review based on the following set of criteria: Public health importance (burden of suffering, potential of preventive service to reduce the burden); new evidence that has the potential to change prior recommendations including inactive ones; and, potential for greatest Task Force impact (e.g., clinical controversy, practice does not reflect evidence, inappropriate timing in delivery of services). The USPSTF will prioritize topics for which there is a performance gap and the potential to significantly improve clinical practice. Individuals and organizations may nominate new topics or topics previously reviewed by the USPSTF. Basic Topic Nomination Requirements: Nominations must be no more than 500 words in length and must include the following information. Nominations may include an appendix that contains references and supporting documents (not included in word count). 1. Name of topic. 2. Rationale for consideration by the USPSTF, to include: a. Primary or secondary prevention topic (screening, counseling or preventive medication). b. Primary care relevance (aplicable clinical preventive service must be initiated in the primary care setting which can be defined as family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics or obstetrics/gynecology and provided by a primary care provider). c. Description of public health importance (burden of disease/ suffering, potential of preventive service to reduce burden, including effective interventions). Citations and supporting documents are recommended. d. Summary of new evidence, if any, that has potential to affect the Task Force's recommendation on a previously reviewed topic. Please refer to https://preventiveservices.ahrg.gov for USPSTF recommendations. Citations and supporting documents are recommended. e. Description of potential impact of USPSTF's review of the topic, i.e., change in clinical practice, research focus, etc.

This notice announces the intention of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) allow the proposed information collection project: ``Security Checkpoints and Patients with Radiopharmaceuticals.'' In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed information collection. This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on November 2, 2005 and allowed 60 Days for public comment. No public comments were received. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 Days for public comment.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services invites suggestions from interested organizations and knowledgeable individuals regarding the highest priorities for research, demonstration, and evaluation projects to support and improve the Medicare, Medicaid, and State Children Health Insurance (SCHIP) programs. The research and other activities undertaken and authorized by the above-captioned or above referenced statutory provision may address: 1. The outcomes, comparative clinical effectiveness, and appropriateness of health care items and services (including prescription drugs); and 2. Strategies for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of such programs, including the ways in which such items and services are organized, managed, and delivered under such programs. The statute: a. Requires the establishment of a priority setting process for identifying the most important topics to address, b. Establishes a timetable for development of an initial priority list and completion of the research; and c. Requires ongoing consultation with relevant stakeholders. To review the text of section 1013 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, please visit Section 1013. Research on Outcomes of Health Care Items and Services (PDF 21.7 KB) or https://www.medicare.gov/medicarereform/108s1013.htm (text). Current priority conditions being studied focus on topics particularly relevant to Medicare beneficiaries. The next set of priority conditions will be expanded to include conditions relevant to the Medicaid and SCHIP programs. The current priority conditions are: Arthritis and non-traumatic joint disorders. Cancer. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. Dementia including Alzheimer's disease. Depression and other mood disorders. Diabetes mellitus. Ischemic heart disease. Peptic ulcer disease and dyspepsia. Pneumonia. Stroke and hypertension.