[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 74 (Wednesday, April 17, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22883-22884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-08834]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
AHRQ Standing Workgroup for Quality Indicator Measure
Specification
AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), HHS.
ACTION: Notice of request for nominations.
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SUMMARY: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is
seeking nominations for both a time-limited workgroup and a standing
workgroup to be convened by an AHRQ contractor. The workgroups shall be
comprised of individuals with knowledge of the AHRQ Quality Indicators
(QIs), their technical specifications, and associated methodological
issues. The overarching goals of each group are to provide feedback to
AHRQ regarding refinements to the QIs. The time-limited workgroup is
more restricted to specific clinical or methodological issues, while
the standing workgroup addresses broader issues related to the
measurement cycle.
Because AHRQ did not get a set of candidates with anticipated
breadth of diversity of experience as required in response to our
notice (https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/01/28/2013-01348/ahrq-standing-workgroup-for-quality-indicator-measure-specification)
published on January 28, 2013, Volume 78, No. 18, page numbers: 5810 &
5811, AHRQ resubmits the same notice to give opportunity to those
interested in this objective.
DATES: Please submit nominations on or before May 3, 2013. Self-
nominations are welcome. Third-party nominations must indicate that the
individual has been contacted and is willing to serve on the workgroup.
Selected candidates will be contacted by AHRQ no later than May 17,
2013. Please include the workgroup of interest. Candidates may apply
for both workgroups.
ADDRESSES: Nominations can be sent in the form of a letter or email,
preferably as an electronic file with an email attachment, and should
specifically address the submission criteria as noted below. Electronic
submissions are strongly encouraged. Responses should be submitted to:
Pamela Owens, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist, Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality, Center for Delivery, Organization and Markets,
540 Gaither Road, Rockville, MD 20850, Email: [email protected],
Phone: (301) 427-1412, Fax: (301) 427-1430.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Pamela Owens, see her
information above.
Background
The AHRQ Quality Indicators (AHRQ QIs) are a unique set of measures
of health care quality that make use of readily available hospital
inpatient administrative data. The QIs have been used for various
purposes. Some of these include tracking, hospital self-assessment,
reporting of hospital-specific quality or pay for performance. The AHRQ
QIs are provider- and area-level quality indicators and currently
consist of four modules: the Prevention Quality Indicators (PQIs), the
Inpatient Quality Indicators (IQIs), the Patient Safety Indicators
(PSIs), and the Pediatric Quality Indicators (PQIs). In response to
feedback from the AHRQ QI user community and guidance from NQF, AHRQ is
committed to the ongoing improvement and refinement of the QIs in an
accurate and transparent manner. For additional information about the
AHRQ QIs, please visit the AHRQ Web site at http://www.qualityindicators.AHRQ.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: These workgroups are being administered by
AHRQ's contractor as part of a structured approach to formally and
broadly engage stakeholders, and to enhance and expand transparency
about the scientific development of the AHRQ QIs.
Time-Limited Workgroup
Time-limited workgroups are formative in nature, providing feedback
on significant measure improvement issues and representing a broad
range of stakeholders. The focus for this upcoming year will be the
Prevention Quality Indicators (PQI). The role of time-limited group
members is to: (1) Provide technical guidance on the PQI specifications
and rationales, risk adjustment strategies, and other quality
measurement issues; (2) provide input on critical information gaps, as
well as research methods to address them; (3) provide guidance on draft
recommendations for the PQI measure refinements; (4) offer
scientifically rigorous recommendations for the evaluation and
validation efforts required to ensure the accuracy of the PQIs; and,
(5) provide input on and review of the contractor's technical report
resulting from the workgroup's discussions.
The time-limited workgroup will consist of 8-12 members consisting
of:
One or more statisticians specialized in the relevant
statistical methods and applications
One or more individuals with expertise in population
health, community health care and prevention, and access to and quality
of care
One or more individuals with experience using AHRQ PQI
measures for assessing health system performance and public reporting
[[Page 22884]]
One or more individuals with expertise in developing
algorithms using ICD-9-CM codes to construct or modify quality
indicators using administrative data is desirable, but not mandatory
In addition, the workgroup is expected to include representatives
from impacted provider groups and their professional organizations,
other stakeholders, consumers and other users, quality alliances,
business coalitions, medical or specialty societies, measure
developers, accrediting organizations, and public and private payers.
Standing Workgroup
The standing workgroup is part of a structured approach to bring
together individuals from multiple disciplines for the purpose of
providing technical feedback on proposed updates to the AHRQ QIs. The
intent is to collect feedback in a standardized fashion, and to ensure
continued improvement of key measurement aspects of the QIs based on
new data sources, data enhancements, and methodological advances. The
standing workgroup may potentially provide guidance for the development
of new indicators or the modification or retirement of existing
indicators. Annual topics include: (1) Strategic areas for AHRQ QI
program development for the upcoming year, (2) measure specification,
software and documentation changes that have been proposed from users,
the literature or other sources, (3) results from the analysis of
proposed changes and review of recommendations for implementation, and
(4) general methodological developments in quality measurement.
The standing workgroup will consist of 8-12 members to form a
diverse group of clinicians and other individuals from a variety of
disciplines and settings with expertise and interest in quality
measurement and improvement. Members of the standing workgroup may
include:
One or more currently practicing clinicians specialized in
various disciplines
One or more individuals with inpatient nursing and/or
nursing management experience
One or more individuals with experience using AHRQ 01
measures for assessing hospital performance and/or public reporting
One of more individuals with expertise in developing
algorithms for relevant quality indicators using administrative data
One or more individuals with expertise in validating ICD-
9-CM codes using chart abstraction (to assess criterion validity), or
assessing their accuracy in identifying individuals at risk for
specific adverse outcomes (predictive validity)
One or more individuals with experience using HCUP or
similar data for the purpose of quality measurement
One or more individuals with knowledge of ICD-9-CM and
ICD-10-CM coding guidelines and practices
Submission Criteria
To be considered for membership on either workgroup, please send
the following information for each nominee:
1. A brief nomination letter highlighting experience and knowledge
in the use of the AHRQ QIs, including any experience with the National
Quality Forum (NQF) Consensus Development Process, and the workgroup of
interest. The nominee's profession and specialty, and the spectrum of
his or her experience related to the QIs should be described. Please
include full contact information of nominee: name, title, organization,
mailing address, telephone and fax numbers, and email address.
2. Curriculum vita (with citations to any pertinent publications
related to quality measure development or use).
3. Description of any financial interest, recent conduct, or
current or planned commercial, non-commercial, institutional,
intellectual, public service, or other activities pertinent to the
potential scope of the workgroup, which could be perceived as
influencing the workgroup's process or recommendations. The objective
is not to prevent nominees with potential conflicts of interest from
serving on the workgroups, but to obtain such information so as to best
inform the selection of workgroup members, and to help minimize such
conflicts.
Nominee Selection Criteria
Selection of standing workgroup members will be based on the
following criteria:
Knowledge of and experience with health care quality
measurement using administrative data, including issues of coding,
specification, and risk adjustment
Peer-reviewed publications relevant to developing,
testing, or applying health care quality measures based on ICD-coded
administrative data
Knowledge of current quality measurement methodologies
published in the literature
Clinical expertise in the use and applications of the AHRQ
QIs
Knowledge of the NQF measure submission and maintenance
process
The selection process will be adapted to ensure that the standing
workgroup includes a diverse group of clinicians and other individuals
from a variety of disciplines and settings.
Time Commitment
Time-limited and standing workgroup participants will hold a
minimum two-year term with an optional extension. The time-limited
workgroup will meet by teleconference approximately three times for
approximately two hours each year, with a total time commitment
including preparation and follow-up time of approximately 8-12 hours.
The standing workgroup will meet quarterly by teleconference for
approximately two hours with an annual time commitment including
preparation and follow-up time of approximately 12-16 hours.
Workgroup Activities
1. Workgroup members will receive pre-meeting material to review
and to provide written feedback (1.0 hours).
2. The workgroup meeting will be convened by phone or web
conference. Initial feedback and revisions will be discussed during the
live meetings along with other relevant topics (2.0 hours).
3. Post meeting, members will review and comment on meeting minutes
and associated documents along with any follow-up action items (1
hour).
4. There may be opportunities for workgroup members to
collaboratively publish peer-reviewed journal articles or reports based
on workgroup activities. However, this is not a mandatory requirement
of workgroup members and is not included in the estimated time
commitment.
Dated: April 5, 2013.
Carolyn M. Clancy,
Director, AHRQ.
[FR Doc. 2013-08834 Filed 4-16-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-M