[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 176 (Wednesday, September 11, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 55731]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22105]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Health Workforce Research Center Cooperative Agreement Program

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margaret Glos, Management Analyst, 
National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, Bureau of Health 
Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration, 5600 Fishers 
Lane, Room 9-57, Rockville, Maryland 20852, by phone: (301) 443-3579; 
fax: (301) 443-6380; or email: [email protected].

    Dated: September 5, 2013.
Mary K. Wakefield,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2013-22105 Filed 9-10-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P