23260 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 75 / Thursday, April 18, 2013 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality 

Request for Measures and Domains To 

Use in Development of a Standardized 

Instrument for Use in Public Reporting 

of the Quality of Transition From Childfocused to Adult-focused Care in 

Young Adults With Chronic Conditions 

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research 

and Quality (AHRQ), HHS. 

ACTION: Notice of request for measures 

and domains. 

SUMMARY: Section 401(a) of the 

Children’s Health Insurance Program 

Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA), 

Public Law 111–3, amended the Social 

Security Act (the Act) to enact section 

1139A (42 U.S.C. 1320b–9a). Section 

1139A(b) charged the Department of 

Health and Human Services with 

improving pediatric health care quality 

measures. The Agency for Healthcare 

Research and Quality (AHRQ) is 

requesting the submission of 

instruments or domains (for example, 

key concepts) measuring aspects of the 

transition from child-focused to adultfocused care in young adults with 

chronic health conditions from all 

researchers, vendors, hospitals, 

stakeholders, and other interested 

parties. AHRQ is interested in 

instruments and items through which 

young adults or parent proxies may 

assess experiences they have with the 

health care system, including the 

transition from pediatric to adult health 

care. The goal is to develop a 

standardized instrument for use in 

assessing the quality of transition from 

child-focused to adult-focused care in 

young adults with chronic health 

conditions. 

DATES: Please submit materials May 20, 

2013. AHRQ will not respond to 

individual submissions, but will 

consider all suggestions. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic submissions are 

encouraged, preferably as an email with 

an electronic file in a standard word 

processing format as an email 

attachment. Submissions may also be in 

the form of a letter to: Maushami 

DeSoto, M.Sc., Ph.D., MHA. Office of 

Extramural Research, Education and 

Priority Populations, Agency for 

Healthcare Research and Quality, 540 

Gaither Rd., Rockville, MD 20850, 

Phone: (301) 427–1546, Fax: (301) 427– 

1238, Email: 

Maushami.Desoto@AHRQ.hhs.gov. 

All submissions must include a 

written statement from the submitter 

that it will grant AHRQ the necessary 

rights to use, modify, and adapt the 

submitted instruments, domains, items, 

and their documentation for the 

development of this survey and its 

dissemination for AHRQ purposes. The 

statement must also address the 

instrument’s proprietary and/or 

confidentiality status. In accordance 

with CHIPRA’s charge to improve 

pediatric quality care measures, and 

consistent with AHRQ’s mandate to 

disseminate research results, 42 U.S.C. 

299c–3, AHRQ purposes include public 

disclosure and dissemination (e.g., on 

the AHRQ Web site) of AHRQ products 

and the results of AHRQ-sponsored 

research and activities. The written 

statement must be signed by the 

copyright holder or an individual 

authorized to act for any holder of 

copyright and/or data rights on each 

submitted measure or instrument. The 

authority of the signatory to provide 

such authorization should be described 

in the letter. If the submitted measure or 

instrument is selected for further 

development AHRQ will request that 

the submitter execute a license granting 

all of the above-referenced rights to the 

Department of Health and Human 

Services. 

Submission Guidelines 

When submitting instruments, please 

include, to the extent that it is available: 

—Name of the instrument; 

—Copies of the full instrument, in all 

languages available; 

—Domains or key concepts included in 

the instrument; 

—Instrument reliability (internal 

consistency, test-retest, etc) and 

validity (content, construct, criterionrelated); 

—Results of cognitive testing; 

—Results of field-testing; 

—Current use of the instrument (who is 

using it, what it is being used for, how 

instrument findings are reported, and 

by whom the findings are used); and, 

—Relevant peer-reviewed journal 

articles or full citations. 

When submitting domains, please 

include, to the extent available: 

—Detailed descriptions of question 

domain and specific purpose; 

—Sample questions, in all languages 

available; and, 

—Relevant peer-reviewed journal 

articles or full citations. 

For all submissions, please also 

include: 

A brief cover letter summarizing the 

information requested above for 

submitted instruments and domains, 

respectively; 

Complete information about the 

person submitting the material, 

including: 

(a) Name; 

(b) Title; 

(c) Organization; 

(d) Mailing address; 

(e) Telephone number; 

(f) Email address; and, 

(g) A written statement of intent that 

the submitter will grant to AHRQ the 

necessary rights to use, modify, and 

adapt the submitted instruments, items, 

and their supporting documentation for 

the development of the survey and its 

dissemination for AHRQ purposes, as 

described above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Maushami DeSoto, M.Sc., Ph.D., MHA. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

401(a) of the Children’s Health 

Insurance Program Reauthorization Act 

of 2009 (CHIPRA), Public Law 111–3, 

amended the Social Security Act (the 

Act) to enact section 1139A (42 U.S.C. 

1320b-9a). Since the law was passed, 

the Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality (AHRQ) and the Centers for 

Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 

have been working together to 

implement selected provisions of the 

legislation related to children’s health 

care quality. Section 1139A(b) of the Act 

charged the Department of Health and 

Human Services with improving 

pediatric health care quality measures. 

To implement the law, AHRQ and CMS 

have established the CHIPRA Pediatric 

Quality Measures Program (PQMP), 

which is designed to enhance select 

pediatric quality measures and develop 

new measures as needed. 

The information sought in this Notice 

is being collected pursuant to the needs 

of the Children’s Hospital Boston Center 

of Excellence for Pediatric Quality 

Measurement (CEPQM). It is one of the 

seven CHIPRA Pediatric Quality 

Measures Program (PQMP) Centers of 

Excellence and has been assigned the 

task of developing measures to assess 

aspects of the transition from childfocused to adult-focused care in young 

adults with chronic health conditions. 

To thoroughly carry out this task, the 

Center needs to identify and assess 

instruments or domains which already 

exist on this subject. Such measures will 

be considered in the development of a 

standardized instrument for voluntary 

public reporting by State Medicaid and 

CHIP programs and used by providers, 

consumers, other public and private 

purchasers, and others. 

Existing instruments or domains 

submitted should capture adolescents’ 

experiences with their health care, 

including the transition from pediatric 


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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 75 / Thursday, April 18, 2013 / Notices 23261 

to adult health care (for example, 

preparation readiness or evaluation of 

transfer). The survey development team 

is looking for items for which young 

adults or their parent proxies are 

generally the best or only judge; for 

example, the young adult or parent 

proxy can best say if the provider spent 

sufficient time with them or explained 

things in ways they could understand. 

Existing instruments that have been 

tested should have a high degree of 

reliability and validity; and evidence of 

wide use will be helpful. 

Dated: April 8, 2013. 

Carolyn M. Clancy, 

AHRQ Director. 

[FR Doc. 2013–08937 Filed 4–17–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4160–90–M 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality 

Solicitation for Nominations for 

Members of the U.S. Preventive 

Services Task Force (USPSTF) 

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research 

and Quality (AHRQ), HHS. 

ACTION: Solicits nominations for new 

members of USPSTF. 

SUMMARY: The Agency for Healthcare 

Research and Quality (AHRQ) invites 

nominations of individuals qualified to 

serve as members of the U.S. Preventive 

Services Task Force (USPSTF). 

DATES: All nominations submitted in 

writing or electronically will be 

considered for appointment to the 

USPSTF. Nominations must be received 

by May 15th of a given year to be 

considered for appointment to begin in 

January of the following year. 

Arrangement for Public Inspection 

Nominations and applications are 

kept on file at the Center for Primary 

Care, Prevention, and Clinical 

Partnerships, AHRQ, and are available 

for review during business hours. AHRQ 

does not reply to individual 

nominations, but considers all 

nominations in selecting members. 

Information regarded as private and 

personal, such as a nominee’s social 

security number, home and email 

addresses, home telephone and fax 

numbers, or names of family members 

will not be disclosed to the public (in 

accord with the Freedom of Information 

Act, 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6); 45 CFR 5.67). 

ADDRESSES: Submit your responses 

either in writing or electronically to: 

Robert Cosby, ATTN: USPSTF 

Nominations, Center for Primary Care, 

Prevention, and Clinical Partnerships, 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality, 540 Gaither Road, Rockville, 

Maryland 20850, USPSTFmember

nominations@ahrq.hhs.gov. 

Nomination Submissions 

Nominations may be submitted in 

writing or electronically, but must 

include: 

(1) The applicant’s current curriculum 

vitae and contact information, including 

mailing address, email address, and 

telephone number, and 

(2) a letter explaining how this 

individual meets the qualification 

requirements and how he/she would 

contribute to the USPSTF. The letter 

should also attest to the nominee’s 

willingness to serve as a member of the 

USPSTF. 

AHRQ will later ask persons under 

serious consideration for USPSTF 

membership to provide detailed 

information that will permit evaluation 

of possible significant conflicts of 

interest. Such information will concern 

matters such as financial holdings, 

consultancies, and research grants or 

contracts. 

Nominee Selection 

Appointments to the USPSTF will be 

made on the basis of qualifications as 

outlined below (see Qualification 

Requirements) and the current expertise 

needs of the USPSTF. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert Cosby at USPSTFmember

nominations@ahrq.hhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Under Title IX of the Public Health 

Service Act, AHRQ is charged with 

enhancing the quality, appropriateness, 

and effectiveness of health care services 

and access to such services. 42 U.S.C. 

299(b). AHRQ accomplishes these goals 

through scientific research and 

promotion of improvements in clinical 

practice, including clinical prevention 

of diseases and other health conditions, 

and improvements in the organization, 

financing, and delivery of health care 

services. See 42 U.S.C. 299(b). 

The USPSTF, an independent body of 

experts in prevention and evidencebased medicine, works to improve the 

health of all Americans by making 

evidence-based recommendations about 

the effectiveness of clinical preventive 

services and health promotion. The 

recommendations made by the USPSTF 

address clinical preventive services for 

adults and children, and include 

screening tests, counseling services, and 

preventive medications. 

The USPSTF was first established in 

1984 under the auspices of the U.S. 

Public Health Service. Currently, the 

USPSTF is convened by the Director of 

AHRQ, and AHRQ provides ongoing 

administrative, research and technical 

support for the USPSTF’s operation. 

USPSTF members serve for four year 

terms. New members are selected each 

year to replace those members who are 

completing their appointments. 

The USPSTF is charged with 

rigorously evaluating the effectiveness, 

cost-effectiveness and appropriateness 

of clinical preventive services and 

formulating or updating 

recommendations regarding the 

appropriate provision of preventive 

services. See 42 U.S.C. 299b–4(a)(1). 

AHRQ is charged with supporting the 

dissemination of USPSTF 

recommendations. In addition to hard 

copy materials (that may be obtained 

from the AHRQ Publications 

Clearinghouse), current USPSTF 

recommendations and associated 

evidence reviews are available on the 

Internet (www.uspreventiveservices

taskforce.org). 

USPSTF members meet three times a 

year for two days in the Washington, DC 

area. A significant portion of the 

USPSTF’s work occurs between 

meetings during conference calls and 

via email discussions. Member duties 

include prioritizing topics, designing 

research plans, reviewing and 

commenting on systematic evidence 

reviews of evidence, discussing and 

making recommendations on 

preventive-services, reviewing 

stakeholder comments, drafting final 

recommendation documents, and 

participating in workgroups on specific 

topics and methods. Members can 

expect to receive frequent emails, can 

expect to participate in multiple 

conference calls each month, and can 

expect to have periodic interaction with 

stakeholders. AHRQ estimates that 

members devote approximately 200 

hours a year outside of in-person 

meetings to their USPSTF duties. The 

members are all volunteers and do not 

receive any compensation beyond 

support for travel to in person meetings. 

Nominated individuals will be 

selected for the USPSTF on the basis of 

their qualifications (in particular, those 

that address the required qualifications, 

outlined below) and the current 

expertise needs of the USPSTF. It is 

anticipated that three to four 

individuals will be invited to serve on 

the USPSTF beginning in January 2014. 

All individuals will be considered; 

however, strongest consideration will be 


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