Health Resources and Services Administration September 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with Section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Comments submitted during the first public review of this ICR will be provided to OMB. OMB will accept further comments from the public during the review and approval period.

In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects (Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announces plans to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks comments from the public regarding the burden estimate below, or any other aspect of the ICR.

The Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr) is announcing a change to its Health Workforce Research Center cooperative agreement program. Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) HRSA-13-185, issued on November 26, 2012, announced HRSA's intent to fund Health Workforce Research Centers (HWRCs) focusing on research and technical assistance (TA). The FOA identified five broad areas of focus for research in HWRCs: Allied health, long-term care, behavioral health, oral health, and flexible use of workers to improve care delivery and efficiency. The concentration area, ``flexible use of workers to improve care delivery and efficiency,'' was further defined via published ``frequently asked questions'' as an area intended to address questions related to leveraging the existing health workforce to improve access to care, efficiency, and effectiveness in care delivery. Suggested topics for study included novel health care roles, team-based care (including the composition of teams and division of responsibilities across a team), professionals working at the top of their skills and training, and delegation. These proposed concentration areas were selected as areas of critical importance to health workforce policies and programs, as well as areas in which substantial expertise exists outside the government, indicating strong potential for public benefit. Applicants were asked to design a portfolio consisting of six research or TA projects, of which a subset would be selected for completion in the first budget period. Applicants were instructed to use their own judgment and expertise in designing a portfolio that would address timely, relevant, and important health workforce policy and planning questions. Though the FOA indicated the intent to fund only one cooperative agreement in each research focus area, the latitude given to applicants in designing their portfolios resulted in diverse interpretations of the concentration areas, particularly in the ``flexible use of workers'' category. For example, the top two ranked ``flexible use of workers'' HWRC (ranked at second and third in the research category) have distinct areas of focus. One focuses its portfolio on use of workers in community health centers, health IT, and telehealth. The other focuses primarily on primary care, including competencies for primary care teams, temporal shifts between primary and specialty practice over time, and flexibility in primary vs. specialty care service offerings. After further consideration, and in light of growing interest in promoting full and effective use of health workers, HRSA has concluded it is appropriate and consistent with the intent of the FOA to fund more than one cooperative agreement in a single area of concentration if the proposals cover research on distinct issues of importance. With this in mind, BHPr intends to fund two HWRCs in the concentration area ``flexible use of workers.'' This decision was made in light of the critical importance of defining new and emerging roles and models of the health workforce to meet the nation's changing health care needs. In addition, this allows BHPr to fund directly down the rank order list of applicants produced in the independent review process.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is publishing this notice of petitions received under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (the Program), as required by Section 2112(b)(2) of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, as amended. While the Secretary of Health and Human Services is named as the respondent in all proceedings brought by the filing of petitions for compensation under the Program, the United States Court of Federal Claims is charged by statute with responsibility for considering and acting upon the petitions.

In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects (Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announces plans to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks comments from the public regarding the burden estimate, below, or any other aspect of the ICR.

In compliance with Section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Comments submitted during the first public review of this ICR will be provided to OMB. OMB will accept further comments from the public during the review and approval period.

The Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr) is announcing a change to its Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship (AENT) program. Effective fiscal year (FY) 2014, AENT support for part-time students (trainees) will be limited to those students (trainees) who are enrolled within the last 12 months of study for their program. This change will apply to new part-time students (trainees) and will not affect part-time students (trainees) funded prior to FY 2014, who will continue to be supported throughout their advanced education primary care training. Support for full-time students (trainees) will continue without any changes. This change is being implemented to support part-time students (trainees) nearing graduation, in an effort to expeditiously meet the growing demand for primary care nurse practitioners and nurse midwives.

HRSA is issuing non-competitive program expansion supplements to all 17 fiscal year (FY) 2013 HCOP grantees to include interprofessional health educational activities focused on careers in behavioral health, such as a graduate degree in Clinical or Counseling Psychology, Clinical Social Work, and/or Marriage and Family Therapy. This expanded focus could be formed through collaboration with a Behavioral Health Department/School or Program that is within the current HCOP academic institution or accessible within the institution's geographic region. Approximately $1,900,000 will be available for this effort. HCOP grantees currently have the expertise, experience, and infrastructure to quickly and efficiently implement the behavioral health supplemental initiative within their existing educational programming. The program expansion supplements will allow the Bureau of Health Professions to consolidate resources and meet the growing need for and access to skilled and culturally competent behavioral health professionals within a currently existing grant program.