[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 154 (Friday, August 9, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48683-48685]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19272]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Announcement of Requirements and Registration for Million
Hearts[supreg] Hypertension Control Challenge
AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice.
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Award Approving Official: Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, Director,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Administrator, Agency
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) located
within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces the
launch of the Million Hearts[supreg] Hypertension Control Challenge on
August 9, 2013. The challenge will be open until September 9, 2013.
Million Hearts[supreg] is a national initiative to prevent 1
million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. Achieving this goal means
that 10 million more Americans must have their blood pressure under
control. Million Hearts[supreg] is working to control high blood
pressure through clinical approaches, such as using health information
technology to its fullest potential and integrating team-based
approaches to care, as well as community approaches, such as
strengthening tobacco control, and lowering sodium consumption.
To support improved blood pressure control, HHS/CDC is announcing
the Million Hearts[supreg] Hypertension Control
[[Page 48684]]
Challenge. This challenge recognizes organizations that invest in
hypertension control, improve understanding of successful
implementation strategies at the health system level, and motivate
providers and health systems to strengthen their hypertension control
efforts.
The challenge will identify clinicians, clinical practices, and
health systems that have achieved exceptional rates of hypertension
control and recognize them as Million Hearts[supreg] Hypertension
Control Champions. To support improved quality of care delivered to
patients with hypertension, Million Hearts[supreg] will document the
systems, processes, and staffing that contribute to the exceptional
blood pressure control rates achieved by Champions.
Champions will receive a cash prize and local and national
recognition.
DATES: The contest begins on August 9, 2013 and ends on September 9,
2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Ladd, Division for Heart Disease
and Stroke Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention
and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770
Buford Hwy NE., Mailstop F-72, Atlanta, GA 30341, Telephone: 770-488-
2424, Fax: 770-488-8151, Attention: Hypertension Control Challenge,
Email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The challenge is authorized by Public Law
111-358, the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote
Excellence in Technology, Education and Science Reauthorization Act of
2010 (COMPETES Act).
This information collection request is approved by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB). [OMB control no. 0920-0976, expires 7/31/
2016.]
Subject of Challenge Competition
Entrants of the Million Hearts Hypertension Control Challenge will
be asked to submit two point-in-time measures of the hypertension
control rate for the practice's or health system's hypertensive
population approximately twelve months apart. Entrants will also be
asked to describe the sustainable systems used by the practice or
health system that support continued improvements in blood pressure
control and some population characteristics.
Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Competition
To be eligible to win a prize under this challenge, an individual
or entity--
(1) Shall have completed the nomination form to participate in the
competition under the rules promulgated by HHS/CDC;
(2) Shall have complied with all the requirements in this section;
(3) Shall be a U.S. licensed clinician or medical practice
providing health care services in family practice, internal medicine,
osteopathy, or obstetrics/gynecology, primarily for adults or shall be
a U.S. licensed health system that provides coverage to a patient
population representative of the geographic area.
(4) Must provide medical care to control hypertension to adult
patients and have a data management system (electronic or paper) that
allows HHS/CDC or their contractor to check data submitted.
(5) In the case of a private entity, shall be licensed in and
maintain a primary place of business in the United States, 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;
(6) May not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within
the scope of their employment;
(7) Shall not be an HHS employee working on their applications or
submissions during assigned duty hours;
(8) Shall not be an employee or contractor at HHS/CDC.
(9) Federal grantees, may not use Federal funds to develop COMPETES
Act challenge applications unless consistent with the purpose of their
grant award.
(10) Federal contractors may not use Federal funds from a contract
to develop COMPETES Act challenge applications or to fund efforts in
support of a COMPETES Act challenge submission.
(11) Must agree to participate in a process to verify hypertension
control data by submitting de-identified electronic medical records,
allowing remote review of de-identified records, or allowing a site
visit or confirmation through another source.
(12) Must not have been convicted or be under investigation for
criminal offenses or health care fraud. Examples of fraud include
felony health care fraud, patient abuse, or neglect; felony convictions
for other health care-related fraud, theft, or other financial
misconduct; and felony convictions relating to unlawful manufacture,
distribution, prescription, or dispensing of controlled substances as
verified through the Office of the Inspector General List of Excluded
Individuals and Entities.
(13) Must agree to accept the prize if selected and agree to
participate in an interview to develop a success story that describes
the systems and processes that support hypertension control among
patients.
An individual or entity 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
available to all individuals and entities participating in the
competition on an equal basis.
By participating in this challenge, an individual or organization
agrees to assume any and all risks related to participating in the
challenge. Individuals or organizations also agree to waive claims
against the Federal Government and its related entities, except in the
case of willful misconduct, when participating in the challenge,
including claims for injury; death; damage; or loss of property, money,
or profits, and including those risks caused by negligence or other
causes.
By participating in this challenge, individuals or organizations
agree to protect the Federal Government against third party claims for
damages arising from or related to challenge activities.
Individuals or organizations are not required to hold liability
insurance related to participation in this challenge.
Federal organizations will be offered a simultaneous opportunity to
participate in a separate but similar challenge, and will be eligible
for recognition only. No cash prize will be awarded to Federal
organizations.
Registration Process for Participants
To participate, contestants will navigate to
www.MHhypertensionchallenge.com. On this site, applicants will find the
rules and guidelines for participating as well as the entry form. On
the homepage, applicants in the private sector will click the button
labeled ``Private Organization Nomination'' to voluntarily enter the
challenge. Information on the nomination form will include:
Name and complete address of nominee and business address
of the nominator. If more than one site is represented in the
submission, the administrative office or lead office should be
provided.
Contact information to include business telephone number
and email address.
Data to show evidence of clinical success in achieving
hypertension control, including: (a) Clinical hypertension control rate
within three months of submission and clinical hypertension control
rate 9-12 months
[[Page 48685]]
previous for the hypertensive patient population, (b) a description of
the sustainable systems adopted to achieve hypertension control and (c)
a description of the clinic population served.
HHS/CDC defines ``hypertension control'' as a blood pressure
reading <140 mmHg systolic and <90 mmHg diastolic among hypertensive
patients. Million Hearts[supreg] supports use of the National Quality
Forum 0018 (other nationally recognized measures for defining
hypertension control may be used and shall be specified in the
nomination form).
The hypertension control rate should be inclusive of the provider
or health system's entire hypertensive patient population, not limited
to a sample. Examples of ineligible data submissions include
hypertension control rates that are limited to treatment cohorts from
research studies or pilot studies, patients limited to a specific age
range (such as 18-35), or patients enrolled in quality improvement
projects.
The estimated burden for completing the nomination form is 30
minutes.
Amount of the Prize
Up to a total of 14 of the highest scoring clinical practices or
health systems (judged separately) will be recognized as Million
Hearts[supreg] Hypertension Control Champions and will receive a cash
award of $5,000. A maximum of $70,000 will be awarded in this
challenge.
Payment of the Prize
Prizes awarded under this challenge will be paid by electronic
funds transfer and may be subject to Federal income taxes. HHS will
comply with the Internal Revenue Service withholding and reporting
requirements, where applicable.
Basis Upon Which Winner Will Be Selected
Nomination will be scored based on hypertension control rate (90%
of score), treatment of a population in which achieving hypertension
control is more challenging, such as high risk or low income
individuals (5% of score), and sustainable systems in the practice that
support hypertension control (5% of score). A CDC-sponsored panel of
three to five experts consisting of both HHS/CDC staff and external
Million Hearts[supreg] partners will review the nominations with the
highest scores to select finalists. Finalist selection may consider
geographic location and population treated.
Finalists will be asked to participate in a 15-day process to
verify their data so that HHS/CDC can confirm information submitted on
the nomination form. Data confirmation may include one or more of the
following activities: A remote review of summary data or de-identified
electronic medical record list, a random hard copy or electronic record
review, and/or verification through other reporting systems, such as
the National Committee for Quality Assurance or the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services. A background check will also be conducted
on selected finalists. At a minimum, the background check will verify
the finalist's license and include a search of the Office of the
Inspector General List of Excluded Individuals and Entities.
If a selected finalist does not respond to requests for data and
information by the requested date or if a selected finalist receives
negative findings through the background check or data confirmation,
HHS/CDC reserves the option to exclude that individual or organization
from the challenge award process and to select the next highest scoring
nominee.
Each selected Champion will participate in a post-challenge
telephone interview. The interview will include questions about the
strategies employed by the individual or organization to achieve high
rates of hypertension control, including barriers and facilitators for
those strategies. The interview will focus on systems and processes and
should not require preparation time by the Champion. The estimated time
for the interview is two hours, which includes time to review the
interview protocol with the interviewer, respond to the interview
questions, and review a summary data about the Champion's practices.
The summary will be written as a success story and will be posted on
the Million Hearts[supreg] Web site.
Additional Information
Information received from nominees will be stored in a password
protected file on a secure server. The challenge Web site may post the
number of nominations received but will not include information about
individual nominees. The database of information submitted by nominees
will not be posted on the Web site. Information collected from nominees
will include general details, such as the business name, address, and
contact information of the nominee. This type of information is
generally publically available. The nomination will collect and store
only aggregate clinical data through the nomination process; no
individual patient data will be collected or stored.
Information for selected Champions, such as the provider, practice,
or health system's name, location, and hypertension control rate will
be shared through press releases, the challenge Web site, and Million
Hearts[supreg] and HHS/CDC resources.
Summary data on the types of systems and processes that nominees
use to control hypertension may be shared in documents or other
communication products that describe generally used practices for
successful hypertension control. No individual or organization names
will be included in the summary document except for the selected
Champions. HHS/CDC will use the summary data only as described and will
secure the data to the full extent allowable by law.
Compliance With Rules and Contacting Contest Winners
Finalists and Champions must comply with all terms and conditions
of these official rules, and winning is contingent upon fulfilling all
requirements herein. The initial finalists will be notified by email,
telephone, or mail after the date of the judging.
Privacy
If contestants choose to provide HHS/CDC with personal information
by filling out the nomination form through the challenge Web site at
www.MHhypertensionchallenge.com, that information is used to respond to
contestants in matters regarding their selection as a finalist.
Information is not collected for commercial marketing. Winners are
permitted to cite that they won this challenge.
The names, cities, and states of selected champions will be made
available in promotional materials and at recognition events.
General Conditions
The HHS/CDC reserves the right to cancel, suspend, and/or modify
the challenge, or any part of it, for any reason, at HHS/CDC's sole
discretion.
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 3719.
Dated: August 5, 2013.
J. Ronald Campbell,
Director, Division of Executive Secretariat, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2013-19272 Filed 8-8-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P