[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]
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