[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 107 (Monday, June 5, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36579-36581]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11869]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality


Challenge Competition: Announcement of AHRQ Challenge on the 
Impact of AHRQ's Patient Safety Tools

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is 
announcing a challenge competition to better understand how using an 
AHRQ patient safety tool has resulted in safer care, as evidenced by 
associated process and/or outcome measures. AHRQ would like to use this 
information as an example of the type of return on investment an 
organization might expect when using the tool. This challenge 
competition will be completed in one phase, with a cash prize awarded 
to up to 10 winners.

DATES: The submission deadline is October 5, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your responses electronically via: https://www.challenge.gov/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Chew, Health Scientist 
Administrator, Email: [email protected], Telephone: 301-427-
1305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Problem Statement

    The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) offers many 
practical tools and resources to help a variety of healthcare 
organizations, providers, and others make patient care safer in all 
healthcare settings. These tools are based on research, and they are 
intended to help staff in hospitals, emergency departments, long-term 
care facilities, and ambulatory settings to prevent avoidable 
complications of care. Patient Safety tools can be found on the AHRQ 
website at Patient Safety and Quality Improvement [verbar] Agency for 
Healthcare Research and Quality (ahrq.gov) under ``Patient Safety 
Resources by Setting.''
    AHRQ seeks to better understand how using an AHRQ patient safety 
tool has resulted in safer care, as evidenced by associated process 
and/or outcome measures. AHRQ would like to use this information as an 
example of the type of return on investment an organization might 
expect when using the tool.

Challenge Goal

    The purpose of this challenge goal is to elicit new narratives and 
measures (process and outcome) that AHRQ is not already aware of 
regarding the use of specific AHRQ Patient Safety tools (listed below). 
Use of the tool means use in its entirety or use of a specific part. 
These success stories may be posted on the AHRQ website and used for 
promotion of corresponding tools.
    Tools for consideration:
    1. Guide to Patient and Family Engagement in Hospital Quality and 
Safety helps hospitals work as partners with patients and families to 
improve quality and safety. Includes an implementation handbook and 
tools for patients, families, and clinicians.
    2. Medications at Transitions and Clinical Handoffs (MATCH) Toolkit 
features strategies from the field that can help hospitals improve 
medication reconciliation processes for patients as they move through 
the healthcare system.
    3. Preventing Falls in Hospitals: A Toolkit for Improving Quality 
of Care focuses on overcoming the challenges associated with 
developing, implementing, and sustaining a fall prevention program. 
Includes an implementation guide to help put prevention strategies into 
practice.
    4. Preventing Hospital-Associated Venous Thromboembolism: A Guide 
for Effective Quality Improvement outlines the latest evidence on how 
to lead a quality improvement effort to prevent hospital-acquired 
venous thromboembolism.
    5. Preventing Pressure Ulcers in Hospitals is a toolkit that 
assists hospital staff in implementing effective pressure ulcer 
prevention practices through an interdisciplinary approach to care.
    6. Community-Acquired Pneumonia Clinical Decision Support 
Implementation Toolkit is a resource to help clinicians and clinical 
informaticians in primary care and other ambulatory settings implement 
and adopt the community-acquired pneumonia clinical decision support 
alert for the management of community-acquired pneumonia.
    7. Guide to Improving Patient Safety in Primary Care Settings by 
Engaging Patients and Families offers four interventions and four case 
studies designed to improve patient safety by meaningfully engaging 
patients and families in their care.
    8. Improving Your Laboratory Testing Process: A Step-by-Step Guide 
for Rapid-Cycle Patient Safety and Quality Improvement can increase the 
reliability of the testing process in your office by helping you 
examine how tests are managed.
    9. Toolkit to Engage High-Risk Patients in Safe Transitions Across 
Ambulatory Settings is designed to help staff actively engage patients 
and their care partners to prevent errors during transitions of care.
    10. Falls Management Program: A Quality Improvement Initiative for 
Nursing Facilities is an interdisciplinary quality improvement 
initiative to assist nursing facilities in providing individualized, 
person-centered care and improving their fall care processes and 
outcomes through educational and quality improvement tools.
    11. Improving Patient Safety in Long-Term Care Facilities is a 
training curriculum for front-line personnel in nursing home and other 
long-term care facilities to help them detect and communicate changes 
in a resident's condition and prevent and manage falls.

[[Page 36580]]

Includes an Instructor Guide and separate student workbooks.
    12. Safety Program for Nursing Homes: On-Time Pressure Ulcer 
Prevention is a team training curriculum to help nursing homes with 
electronic medical records reduce the occurrence of pressure ulcers.
    13. Communication and Optimal Resolution (CANDOR) Toolkit enables 
healthcare organizations to implement an AHRQ-developed process. Like 
similar programs in place in other organizations, CANDOR gives 
hospitals and health systems the tools to respond immediately when a 
patient is harmed and to promote candid, empathetic communication and 
timely resolution for patients and caregivers.
    14. Making Healthcare Safer III offers a critical analysis of 
existing and emerging patient safety practices reviews 47 practices 
that target patient safety improvements in hospitals, primary care 
practices, long-term care facilities, and other healthcare settings.

Timeline and Prize Amounts

Timeline

    June 5, 2023--Challenge launch.
    October 5, 2023--Submissions are due. AHRQ will complete the review 
of the submissions within 6 weeks of closing the announcement.
    November 10, 2023--AHRQ will announce the winners.

Prize Amounts

    Up to 10 winners who have described how the use of patient safety 
resources demonstrated measurable improvement in associated process 
and/or outcome measures will receive $10,000 each.

How To Enter the Challenge

    Participants can enter their submissions by visiting the 
Challenge.gov website. Submission requirements and Challenge 
information, including the judging criteria, are also provided on the 
site. Participants are encouraged to follow the Challenge on 
Challenge.gov to obtain any updates and reminders of upcoming 
deadlines. Information on the Challenge can also be found on the AHRQ 
website: https://www.ahrq.gov/challenges/patient-safety-tools/index.html.

Submission Requirements

    Submissions for narratives and measures related to the use of AHRQ 
Patient Safety Tools and Resources must be in English and submitted 
using the online platform by October 5, 2023. AHRQ will not accept 
submissions from an organization whose improvement story related to 
this specific tool has already been featured in an AHRQ Impact Case 
Study.
    Challenge submissions must describe, in a written document that 
must be no more than 3 pages, double spaced, 12-point Times New Roman 
or Arial font, with 1-inch margins, a narrative that includes, but is 
not limited to:
     The specific patient safety tool, information about the 
organization that implemented it (for example, hospital, primary care 
clinic, etc.).
     How it was implemented (for example, hospital-wide, on 
select units, etc.).
     Timeline for implementation (for example, implemented over 
a 6-month period).
     Support for implementation (for example, overseen by the 
quality improvement department, led by the unit nurse champion).
     Positive changes in associated process and/or outcome 
measures.
    Please see the Challenge Goal section for the list of applicable 
patient safety resources.
    For examples of high-quality impact stories, please reference the 
following case studies from the AHRQ Impact Case Studies website:

 Georgia Hospitals Improve Medication Reconciliation Process 
With AHRQ Toolkit [verbar] Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
 Tennessee Hospital Association Uses AHRQ Tools To Boost 
Patient Safety, Saving $17 Million [verbar] Agency for Healthcare 
Research and Quality
 AHRQ's Toolkit Helped Vanderbilt University Hospital 
Substantially Reduce Patient Falls [verbar] Agency for Healthcare 
Research and Quality

Review Process

    All submissions will be reviewed by at least two AHRQ patient 
safety subject matter expert staff who will score them based on the 
review criteria and provide a brief comment about the submission. The 
scores/comments on submissions will be compiled and a ranked summary 
provided to AHRQ Challenge staff.

Evaluation Criteria for Selecting Winning Applications

    Overall Approach (35pts)--Does the submission sufficiently describe 
the use of the tool? Does the submission provide sufficient detail 
about the selected tool, organizational characteristics, tool 
implementation, timeline, support, and improvement in measures as 
indicated in the Submission Requirements? Does the submission include a 
compelling narrative about the positive use of the tool? Is the 
information organized and shared in a logical, thoughtful way, that can 
be repurposed to demonstrate how other organizations could replicate 
its successful impact?
    Impact (35pts)--Does the submission demonstrate positive changes in 
both process and outcome measures, as a result of using the specific 
tool? Does the submission tell a compelling and impactful story to 
demonstrate that the AHRQ Patient Safety Tool utilized has made a 
positive impact?
    Innovation (10pts)--Does the submission include innovative methods 
for implementing the specific tool? While the primary focus of the 
submission should be use of the tool as designed, innovative 
implementation methods to optimize impact will also be considered.
    Addressing Unique Healthcare needs (20pts)--Does the proposal 
demonstrate how the use of the specific tool equitably addresses unique 
healthcare needs of the population being served (e.g., clinic or 
hospital setting), current environment (e.g., patient and family 
engagement), and emerging trends (e.g., artificial intelligence in 
healthcare, telemedicine)?

Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Challenge

    To be eligible under this Challenge, an individual (whether 
participating singly or in a group) or entity:
    1. Shall have registered to participate in the Challenge.
    2. Shall have complied with the rules set forth in this 
announcement for participation in this Challenge.
    3. Shall be incorporated and maintain a primary place of business 
in the United States (in the case of a private entity), and in the case 
of an individual, whether participating singly or in a group, shall be 
a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
    4. May not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within 
the scope of their employment. (All Federal employees should consult 
with their agency Ethics Official to determine whether the federal 
ethics rules will limit or prohibit the acceptance of a prize.)
    5. May not be an employee of AHRQ or any other company, 
organization, or individual involved with the design, production, 
execution, judging, or distribution of the Challenge, or their 
immediate family (spouse, parents and step-parents, siblings and step-
siblings, and children and step-children), or household members (people 
who share the same residence at least 3 months out of the year).
    6. May not use Federal funds from a grant to develop Challenge 
applications unless consistent with the purpose of the grant award.

[[Page 36581]]

    7. May not use Federal funds from a contract to develop Challenge 
applications or to fund efforts in support of a Challenge submission.
    8. Shall not be deemed ineligible because the individual or entity 
used Federal facilities or consulted with Federal employees during a 
competition if the facilities and employees are made equitably 
available to all individuals and entities participating in the 
competition.
    9. Shall not be required to purchase liability insurance as a 
condition of participation in this competition.

Additional Rules of Participation

    By participating in this Challenge, each individual (whether 
participating singly or in a group) or entity:
    1. Agrees to follow all applicable federal, state, and local laws, 
regulations, and policies.
    2. Agrees to comply with all terms and conditions of participation 
in this Challenge.
    3. Agrees that the submission will not use HHS or AHRQ logos or 
official seals and will not claim endorsement by HHS or AHRQ.
    4. Understands that all materials submitted to AHRQ as part of a 
submission become AHRQ records.
    5. Agrees that the submission must not infringe upon copyright or 
any other rights of any third party.
    6. Agrees to assume any and all risks and waive claims against the 
Federal Government and its related entities, except in the case of 
willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, 
revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, 
arising from participation in this prize contest, whether the injury, 
death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise.
    7. Agrees to indemnify the Federal Government against third-party 
claims for damages arising from or related to Challenge activities.
    8. Understands that AHRQ reserves the right to cancel, suspend, 
and/or modify this prize contest, or any part of it, for any reason, at 
AHRQ's sole discretion. AHRQ also reserves the right not to award any 
prizes if no entries are deemed worthy.
    9. Understands that AHRQ will not select a winner that is named on 
the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS).

Intellectual Property (IP) Rights

    1. Each participant retains title and full ownership in and to 
their submission. Participants expressly reserve all intellectual 
property rights not expressly granted.
    2. By participating in the Challenge, each participant (whether 
participating singly or in a group) acknowledges that he or she is the 
sole author or owner of, or has a right to use, any copyrightable works 
that the submission comprises, that the works are wholly original with 
the participant (or is an improved version of an existing work that the 
participant has sufficient rights to use and improve), and that the 
submission does not infringe any copyright or any other rights of any 
third party of which participant is aware. In addition, each 
participant (whether participating singly or in a group) grants to the 
U.S. Government a paid-up, nonexclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable 
worldwide license and the right to reproduce, publish, post, link to, 
share, display publicly (on the web or elsewhere) and prepare 
derivative works, including the right to authorize others to do so on 
behalf of the U.S. Government.
    3. If the submission includes any third party works (such as third 
party content or open source code), the participant must be able to 
provide, upon request, documentation of all appropriate licenses and 
releases for use of such third-party works. If the participant cannot 
provide documentation of all required licenses and releases, AHRQ 
reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify the 
submission.

    Dated: May 31, 2023.
Marquita Cullom,
Associate Director.
[FR Doc. 2023-11869 Filed 6-2-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-P