[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 141 (Monday, July 24, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37898-37900]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-17978]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; General
Reorganization; Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations
of Authority
Part H, Public Health Service (PHS), Chapter HP (Agency for Health
Care Policy and Research), of the Statement of Organization, Functions,
and Delegations of Authority for the Department of Health and Human
Services (55 FR 12286-89, April 2, 1990, as amended at 58 FR 16534,
March 29, 1993) is amended to reflect organizational changes within the
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research.
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research
Under heading Section HP-20, Organization and Functions, beginning
with the title, Office of the Administrator (HPA), delete all titles
and statements and substitute the following:
Office of the Administrator (HPA). Directs the activities of the
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research to ensure the achievement of
strategic objectives. Specifically: (1) Determines that Agency programs
support Administration goals and objectives; (2) plans, directs,
coordinates, and evaluates the administrative policies and procedures,
the research and training programs, and the dissemination activities of
the Agency; (3) manages the Equal Employment Opportunity programs; (4)
maintains the scientific integrity of the research program and the
staff; (5) establishes Agency program and budget priorities; (6)
represents the Agency within the Public Health Service, at the highest
levels of Government, and to the public; (7) makes recommendations to
the Secretary on Federal reimbursement programs with respect to health
care technologies and health care policies and research.
Office of Management (HPA6). Directs and coordinates Agency-wide
administrative activities. Specifically: (1) Manages and coordinates
the human resource activities of the Agency
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including personnel operations and the allocation of personnel
resources; (2) provides organizational and management analysis,
develops policies and procedures, and implements Agency management
policies; (3) coordinates the Agency Federal Managers' Financial
Integrity Act and Privacy Act activities; (4) plans and directs
financial management activities including budget formulation,
presentation, and execution functions and supports the linking of the
budget and planning process; (5) conducts all business management
aspects of the review, negotiation, award and administration of Agency
grants and contracts; (6) manages the analysis, selection, and
implementation of the information resource management and
telecommunication systems; (7) provides Agency support services
including the acquisition, management, and maintenance of supplies,
equipment, and space.
Office of Planning and Evaluation (HPA7). Directs and coordinates
the strategic planning, program evaluation, and legislative activities
of the Agency. Specifically: (1) Directs and coordinates program
planning activities of the Agency and prepares the strategic plan; (2)
plans and manages the program evaluation activities of the Agency
including evaluations of dissemination, training, and research
programs; (3) plans and coordinates Agency research activities that
focus on special populations and initiatives; (4) coordinates the
legislative activities of the Agency including the development of
legislative proposals and analysis of Federal health legislative
initiatives; (5) manages and coordinates development and clearance of
proposed regulations, reports, and program announcements; (6)
represents the Agency in meetings with other Public Health Service and
Department planning, evaluation, and legislative offices.
Office of Policy Analysis (HPA8). Provides support to the
Administrator and technical assistance to the Public Health Service and
other Department components in the formulation and analysis of national
health care policy. Specifically: (1) Reviews Agency research plans and
programs to determine their relevance to national policy issues; (2)
analyzes health policy issues of national and regional significance
using data and research produced by the Agency; (3) synthesizes
research findings on policy and program issues of concern to the
Administrator; (4) conducts and supports special projects or studies to
inform health policy; (5) develops and manages an extramural centers
program designed to provide timely studies of immediate health policy
issues; (6) represents the Agency in meetings with components of the
Public Health Service, the Department, and other government agencies
and with private organizations on health policy issues.
Office of Scientific Affairs (HPA9). Directs the scientific review
process for grants and contracts, the assignment of projects to Agency
Centers, manages Agency research training programs, and evaluates the
medical and scientific contribution of proposed and on-going research,
demonstrations, and evaluations. Specifically: (1) Directs the process
for selecting, reviewing, and funding grants and reviewing contracts
for scientific merit and program relevance; (2) assigns grant proposals
to Centers for administrative action; (3) manages the process for
making funding decisions for grants; (4) directs Agency research
training programs and implementation of the National Research Service
Award authority; (5) manages the scientific integrity processes for the
intramural and extramural programs of the Agency; (6) represents the
Agency in meetings with experts and organizations on issues related to
the administration of the scientific program.
Center for Information Technology (HPH). Conducts and supports
studies of health information systems, computerized patient record
systems, and medical decision analysis. Specifically: (1) Manages and
conducts research, demonstrations, and evaluations of computerized
health care information systems; (2) directs studies of data standards,
security, efficiency, and linkages; (3) directs studies of medical
decision making and decision support systems; (4) directs studies of
provider adoption and implementation of automated medical records,
information, and decision systems; (5) represents the Agency in
meetings with international and domestic experts and organizations
concerned with developing and using medical information systems.
Office of the Forum for Quality and Effectiveness in Health Care
(HPJ). Arranges for the development and evaluation of clinical practice
guidelines. Specifically: (1) Supports the development and evaluation
of clinical practice guidelines dealing with the prevention, diagnosis,
and treatment of illness; (2) provides national leadership on guideline
development and assessment of methodologies; (3) supports development
of medical review criteria, performance measures, and standards of
quality; (4) conducts and supports studies of the economic impact of
Agency guidelines; (5) represents the Agency in meetings with experts
and organizations involved in producing, implementing, and evaluating
clinical practice guidelines.
Center for Health Care Technology (HPK). Conducts and supports a
comprehensive program of health care technology assessment.
Specifically: (1) Manages and conducts studies of the safety, efficacy,
effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of health technologies; (2)
prepares recommendation on whether specific technologies should be paid
for by Federal programs that provide or reimburse for health services
including recommendations that such payment be subject to specific
conditions, requirements, or limitation; (3) maintains liaison with
other public and private organizations and entities with regard to
assessment strategies, priorities, and methodologies; (4) represents
the Agency in meetings with international and domestic experts and
organizations concerned with health technology assessment.
Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research (HPB). Conducts and
supports studies of the outcomes and effectiveness of diagnostic,
therapeutic, and preventive health care services and procedures.
Specifically: (1) Manages and conducts research, evaluations, and
demonstrations of the effectiveness of clinical interventions in terms
of patient outcomes; (2) directs an extramural research centers program
on medical effectiveness and patient outcomes; (3) directs and supports
a program of clinical research on the effectiveness of diagnostic and
therapeutic approaches to illness; (4) manages and conducts research
and related activities to improve methods and measures for
effectiveness research; (5) represents the Agency in meetings with
domestic and international experts and organizations concerned with
medical effectiveness and outcomes research.
Center for Delivery Systems Research (HPL). Conducts and supports
studies of the structure, behavior, and performance of acute and long
term health care systems. Specifically: (1) Manages and conducts
studies of trends in the use and cost of care provided by public and
private health care systems; (2) directs epidemiological studies of
patterns of care and changes in the treatment of illness; (3) designs
and manages large administrative data sets produced by states or claims
processors for intramural and extramural research including policy and
methodological studies; (4) conducts and supports research,
demonstrations, and evaluations of institutional and
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community based long term care; (5) represents the Agency in meetings
with international and domestic experts and organizations involved in
developing analytic data sets and analyzing patterns of treatment and
regional and institutional differences in care.
Center for Health Expenditures and Insurance Studies (HPM).
Conducts and supports studies of expenditures and sources of payment
for personal health care services and the development of large primary
data sets for policy research and analyses. Specifically: (1) Plans and
manages national medical expenditure surveys; (2) plans and directs
surveys of employers and other sources of insurance coverage and health
benefits; (3) plans and conducts policy research on patterns of health
expenditures, insurance coverage, and use of personal health services;
(4) develops microsimulation models for policy research; (5) conducts
and supports statistical and methodological research on survey design,
sampling and estimation techniques, and data quality; (6) provides
statistical support to the Agency; (7) represents the Agency in
meetings with Federal agencies and experts on health policy issues
especially issues related to health expenditures and insurance and
Federal and state health care programs.
Center for Cost and Financing (HPN). Conducts and supports studies
of the cost and financing of health care services. Specifically: (1)
Manages and conducts research, demonstrations and evaluations of the
cost of medical care and the performance of health care markets; (2)
directs studies of the productivity of health providers, managed care
organizations, and insurers; (3) directs analyses of the legal and
economic consequences of malpractice insurance; (4) directs studies of
the use, cost, and financing of care for HIV; (5) represents the Agency
in meeting with international and domestic experts and organizations
concerned with the cost and financing of health care and care for
patients with HIV.
Center for Quality Measurement and Improvement (HPP). Conducts and
supports research on the measurement and improvement of the quality of
health care. Specifically: (1) Conducts and supports research,
demonstrations, and evaluations of the quality of health care; (2)
designs, conducts, and supports consumer surveys to assess the quality
of and satisfaction with health care services and systems; (3) develops
and tests measures and methods for evaluating the quality of care; (4)
provides technical assistance and gathers information on the use of
quality measures and consumer information and the resulting effects;
(5) represents the Agency in meetings with domestic and international
experts and organizations concerned with measuring and evaluating the
quality of care.
Center for Primary Care Research (HPO). Conducts and supports
studies of primary care, and clinical, preventive and public health
policies and systems. Specifically: (1) Manages and conducts research,
demonstrations, and evaluations of primary care settings and systems;
(2) manages and conducts studies of rural health care services and
systems: (3) directs studies of the care of special populations; (4)
directs studies of the effectiveness of education, supply, and
distribution of the health care workforce; (5) represents the Agency in
meetings with international and domestic experts and organizations
concerned with primary care.
Center for Health Information Dissemination (HPG). Designs,
develops, implements, and manages programs for disseminating the
results of Agency activities. Specifically: (1) Conducts and supports
research on the techniques of providing information to the health care
industry, health care providers, consumers, policy makers, researchers,
and the media; (2) manages the editing, publication, and information
distribution processes of the Agency; (3) provides the administrative
support for reference services and the distribution of technical
information to Agency staff; (4) manages the public affairs activities
of the Agency, an Agency clearinghouse for responding to requests for
information and technical assistance, and a consumer information
program; (5) directs a user liaison program to provide health care
research and policy findings to Federal, state and local public
officials, providers, payers, business, and the health care industry;
(6) evaluates the effectiveness of Agency dissemination strategies and
implements changes indicated by such evaluations; (7) represents the
Agency in meetings with Department and Public Health Service
representatives on press releases, media events, and publication
clearance.
Under the heading Section HP-30, Delegations of Authority, delete
the statement and retitle as Section HP-30, Order of Succession and add
the following: During the absence or disability of the Administrator,
or in the event of a vacancy in that office, the first official listed
below who is available shall act as Administrator, except during
planned periods of absence, when the Administrator may specify a
different order of succession. The order of succession will be:
(1) Deputy Administrator
(2) Executive Officer
(3) Director, Office of Scientific Affairs
(4) Director, Office of Planning and Evaluation
(5) Director, Office of Policy Analysis
Insert heading Section HP-40, Delegations of Authority and add the
following: All delegations and redelegations of authority to officers
and employees of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research which
were in effect immediately prior to the effective date of this
reorganization shall continue in effect pending further redelegation,
provided they are consistent with this reorganization.
Dated: July 14, 1995.
Donna E. Shalala,
Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services.
[FR Doc. 95-17978 Filed 7-21-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-M