[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 83 (Friday, April 28, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24971-24972]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-10710]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Care Financing Administration

[HCFA-3053-N]


Medicare Program; Open Town Hall Meeting To Promote and Establish 
Partnerships Between the Medicare Peer Review Organizations (PROs) and 
Entities in the Health Care Community To Foster Health Care Quality 
Improvement--May 15, 2000

AGENCY: Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), DHHS.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the second in a series of Partnership 
Open Town Hall Meetings for the purpose of exploring and exercising 
opportunities for the entire health care community to collaborate with 
the PROs on quality improvement projects that will raise the quality of 
care provided to Medicare beneficiaries and to all patients. The 
primary focus of the quality improvement partnerships will be six 
national clinical topics, including acute myocardial infarction, breast 
cancer, diabetes, heart failure, pneumonia, and stroke. We view this 
meeting as an opportunity to develop partnerships with the provider, 
practitioner, plan, purchaser and beneficiary communities. The meeting 
is open to the public, but attendance is limited to space available.

DATES The meeting: The meeting will be held on Monday, May 15, 2000, 
from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., EDT.

[[Page 24972]]

    Written Questions or Statements: We will accept written questions 
or other statements, not to exceed two (2) single-spaced, typed pages, 
preferably before the meeting, but until May 30, 2000.

ADDRESSES:
    The Meeting: The meeting will be held at the Doubletree Hotel 
Pentagon City National Airport, 300 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, 
Virginia 22202. The hotel phone number is (703) 416-4100.
    Written Questions or Statements: Send written questions or other 
statements to: Eugene Freund, MD, Clinical Advisor, Quality Improvement 
Group, Office of Clinical Standards and Quality, Health Care Financing 
Administration, S3-02-01, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 
21244-1850.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Monica L. Jackson, JW Associates, LLC; 
phone: (301) 495-9471; fax: (301) 495-5989; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Provisions of This Notice

    We are announcing the second in a series of Town Hall Meetings to 
provide a forum for health care entities and organizations (including 
practitioners, providers, health plans, other purchasers, beneficiaries 
and other interested parties) to partner on health care quality 
improvement projects relating to the activities of the PRO Sixth Round 
Contract, (also known as the PRO sixth Scope of Work, or 6th SOW). The 
meeting is open to the public, but attendance is limited to space 
available. Individuals must register in advance as described in section 
II of this notice.
    The meeting will address partnering on quality improvement projects 
in both managed care and fee-for-service settings. The meeting will 
present models of existing partnerships involving the following 
entities:

--PROs, clinicians, and hospitals.
--PROs and business coalitions.
--Associations and communities.
--HCFA and accrediting bodies.

    Additionally, we are very interested in receiving suggestions for 
additional approaches to collaborating with stakeholders sharing one or 
more of our quality improvement goals. There will be ample time 
allotted at the meeting for questions and suggestions.
    We will also address concerns and issues regarding how partnering 
with the PROs can achieve quality improvements for Medicare 
beneficiaries as well as improved billing and payment accuracy. This 
second Town Hall Meeting will also provide an opportunity for further 
information exchange concerning the Health Care Quality Improvement 
Program (HCQIP) activities delineated in the PRO Sixth Round Contract 
under the clinical topics described as Tasks 1, 2 and 3.
    Task 1 concerns National Quality Improvement Projects which focus 
on national health improvement clinical topics (for example, Acute 
Myocardial Infarction, Breast Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Failure, 
Pneumonia, and Stroke/Transient Ischemic Attack/Atrial Fibrillation). 
The PROs, in conjunction with their partners, will use standardized 
sets of quality indicators to identify the greatest opportunities to 
improve the care of Medicare beneficiaries in these clinical topic 
areas.
    Task 2, Local Quality Improvement Projects, directs each PRO to 
initiate local projects within its State, in response to local 
interests, needs and opportunities. We are interested in increasing the 
PROs' experience in collaborating with providers, practitioners, plans, 
purchasers and beneficiaries to improve the quality of care they 
deliver. We are also interested in testing quality indicators and 
intervention strategies that reflect care in settings other than acute 
care hospitals and Medicare+Choice plans, as well as those that 
contribute to reducing the disparities in the quality of care delivered 
to members of disadvantaged groups.
    Task 3 concerns Quality Improvement Projects in conjunction with 
Medicare+Choice (M+C) Plans. This task requires each PRO to offer its 
assistance to M+C Plans to implement quality improvement projects as 
part of the Quality Improvement System for Managed Care (QISMC) 
standards. Each M+C Plan must initiate two performance improvement 
projects annually.
    Task 4, which is not on the agenda for this meeting, concerns the 
Payment Error Prevention Program (PEPP). It is a modified review 
activity that is intended to identify opportunities for improvement in 
the billing process to reduce the occurrence of incorrect payments 
resulting from billing errors. It is a cooperative program and includes 
no punitive actions. Errors may include both over billings and under 
billings. The error rate will be the total dollars paid, both above and 
below the correct amount. In the first year of the PROs 6th Round 
Contract, the PROs will conduct PEPP in two areas: unnecessary 
admissions and miscoded DRG assignments.

II. Registration and Rooms

    JW Associates, LLC, is registering interested parties for the 
meeting. You may register by sending a fax to the For Further 
Information Contact. Registration forms may also be found on the 
Internet at www.jwallc.com. Please include your name, affiliation, 
address, telephone number, e-mail and fax number on your registration 
form. A number of rooms have been set aside for meeting attendees. To 
reserve a room, please contact the hotel directly.

III. Meeting Materials

    All meeting materials will be provided at the time of the meeting. 
A summary of the initial July 1999 Partnership Town Hall Meeting can be 
found at the following website: www.hcfa.gov/quality/qlty-5b.htm.

    Authority: Section 1102 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1302).

    Dated: April 25, 2000.
Nancy-Ann Min DeParle,
Administrator, Health Care Financing Administration.
[FR Doc. 00-10710 Filed 4-27-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P