[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81915-81917]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-23316]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality


Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of 
Authority

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has modified 
its organizational structure.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Part E, chapter E (Agency for Healthcare 
Research and Quality), of the Statement of Organization, Functions, and 
Delegations of Authority for the Department of Health and Human 
Services (61 FR 15955-58) April 10, 1996, most recently amended at 81 
FR 22271 on April 15, 2016) is amended to reflect recent organizational 
changes. The specific amendments are as follows:
    I. Under Section E-10, Organization, delete all components and 
replace them with the following:

A. Office of the Director.
B. Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement.
C. Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety.
D. Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends.
E. Office of Communications.
F. Office of Extramural Research, Education, and Priority Populations.
G. Office of Management Services.

    II. Under Section E-20, Functions, delete Center for Evidence and 
Practice Improvement, Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, 
Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, and Office of the 
Director in its entirety and replace with the following:
    Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement. Conducts and supports 
research on health care delivery and practice improvement across the 
continuum of care from prevention to chronic care management to end-of-
life care. Specifically: (1) Synthesizes evidence and translates 
science for multiple stakeholders; (2) advances decision and 
communication sciences to facilitate informed treatment and healthcare 
decision-making by patients and their healthcare providers; (3) 
explores how digital healthcare research can improve clinical decision-
making and health care quality; (4) catalyzes and promotes 
sustainability of improvements in clinical practice across health care 
settings through research, demonstration projects, and partnership 
development; (5) studies the roles that health professionals, health 
systems, and organizations play in the provision of health care 
services; (6) examines the role of health systems in improving quality 
and efficiency of health care services; and (7) operates the National 
Center for Excellence in Primary Care Research.
    Shall be organized into the following four divisions:
    Division of Evidence-Based Practice Centers: Produces evidence 
syntheses by conducting systematic evidence reviews using robust and 
rigorous methodologies and advances evidence synthesis methods to 
ensure scientific rigor and unbiased reviews.
    Division of U.S. Preventive Services Task Force: Provides 
scientific, administrative, and dissemination support for the 
independent U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, enabling the Task 
Force to make evidence-based recommendations on clinical preventive 
services.
    Division of Digital Healthcare Research: Utilizes advanced 
analytics to

[[Page 81916]]

enhance healthcare decision-making and research how facets of the 
evolving digital healthcare ecosystem can best create transformational 
value for patients and their families in delivering safe and effective 
care.
    Division of Practice Improvement: Advances the science of clinical 
practice improvement, including shared decision-making; evaluates and 
supports innovative models of practice transformation in diverse 
settings; facilitates communities of learning to promote the 
implementation of evidence for practice improvement; and serves as a 
trusted source of evidence and tool development for methods, measures, 
and evaluation of practice improvement.
    Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends. Conducts and 
supports studies of the use of and expenditures for healthcare 
services, the sources of payment for that care, the availability and 
cost of health insurance, and access to healthcare. Administers large-
scale surveys and develops large data sets to support health care 
policy and behavioral research and analysis.
    Shall be organized into the following four divisions:
    Division of Statistical Research and Methods (DSRM): Provides a 
wide range of statistical activities for designing and implementing the 
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and for planning and 
researching to help guide and improve these data collection and 
analysis.
    Division of Research and Modeling (DRM): Conducts studies on access 
to, costs, and financing of healthcare services. Provides ongoing 
analytic support to MEPS design and implementation. Develops and 
maintains various simulation models, components, databases, tools, and 
research products that enhance the value of the AHRQ data. Utilizes 
these models and databases to conduct microsimulation analyses of the 
effects, on households and individuals, of health policies embodied in 
current law and the potential impacts of healthcare policies embodied 
in generic versions of proposed healthcare reforms.
    Division of Survey Operations (DSO): Oversees the MEPS data 
collection, processing, and distribution activities. Directs data 
collection for the major MEPS surveys, prepares data files for public 
use, and conducts workshops on the appropriate use of MEPS data. 
Publishes statistical briefs, research findings, and a series of 
methodological reports. Manages a data center for researchers that 
houses MEPS data and maintains liaisons with Federal and non-federal 
individuals and organizations engaged in health services research.
    Division of Healthcare Delivery and Systems Research (DHDSR): 
Develops new evidence, tools, and measures to understand how health 
care is delivered in the U.S., emphasizing the roles that physicians, 
physician practices, hospitals, health systems, other medical 
professionals, and organizations play in the provision of health care 
services.
    Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety. Measures the 
performance of the U.S. health care system; identifies, promotes, and 
supports evidence-based research; and provides information used to 
improve the safety and quality of health care. Collaborates with 
stakeholders across the health care system to implement evidence-based 
practices and accelerate and amplify improvements in quality, including 
patient and workforce safety.
    Shall be organized into the following five divisions:
    Division of General Patient Safety: Leads research efforts on the 
risks and harms inherent in delivering healthcare services in various 
settings. Develops, tests, and facilitates understanding and use of 
evidence-based tools and information to improve the quality and safety 
of health care and reduce the risk of patient harm.
    Division of Patient Safety Organizations: Administers the Patient 
Safety Organization (PSO) Program per the Patient Safety and Quality 
Improvement Act 2005. Approves and oversees PSOs that apply for 
official federal ``listing.'' Publishes Common Formats for measuring 
adverse events in hospitals.
    Division of Healthcare-Associated Infections: Leads research 
studies and implementation projects that prevent, reduce, and 
ultimately eliminate healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and combat 
antibiotic resistance. It fosters the creation of new knowledge and the 
generation of evidence to develop improved methods for preventing 
healthcare-associated infections and improving antibiotic use in 
multiple settings. It promotes the wide-scale implementation of 
effective interventions for preventing HAIs and promoting antibiotic 
stewardship in all these care settings.
    Division of Quality Measurement and Improvement: Conducts quality 
measurement and evaluates improvement activities to improve healthcare 
delivered in the United States. Seeks opportunities to integrate 
various measurement efforts to provide a complete picture of quality 
and safety. Promotes enhanced collaboration and coordination of 
measurement efforts, including integration where possible, to serve the 
needs of multiple stakeholders who use measurements, such as front-line 
clinicians, patients, safety and quality experts, administrators, 
researchers, payers, policymakers, and others. Conducts focused 
measurement programs, including the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare 
Providers and Systems, Surveys on Patient Safety Culture programs, and 
the AHRQ Quality Indicators.
    Division of Healthcare Data and Analytics (DHDA): Leads the 
development, production, and improvement of healthcare delivery data 
and tools for use in research and policy analysis focused on HCUP and 
the supply side of the medical care market. Directs, conducts, and 
supports research on health care delivery and utilization to examine 
issues related to access, utilization, cost, safety, and quality of 
hospital, physician, and other services. Disseminates data, tools, and 
statistics to facilitate and inform public and private health policy 
analysis, clinical studies, and socioeconomic research.
    Office of the Director (OD). Provides leadership of the Agency and 
is responsible for planning, managing, and coordinating Agency programs 
and activities in fulfillment of AHRQ's mission. Principal activities 
include ensuring the overall scientific integrity and objectivity of 
the Agency's research and programs; directing and coordinating the 
Agency's programs, research, training programs, and dissemination 
activities; ensuring Agency programs support Administration goals and 
objectives; representing the Agency within the Department, at the 
highest levels of Government, and to the public.
    Shall be organized into the following two sub-offices:
    Immediate Office of the Director (IOD). Provides overall leadership 
of the Agency and plans, manages, and coordinates the programs and 
activities of all AHRQ components. The IOD supports the Director and 
Deputy Director in achieving the Agency's mission. Specifically, (1) 
provides strategic advice to the Director in support of agency 
priorities; (2) coordinates the legislative activities of the Agency; 
(3) manages the day-to-day operations of the Office of the Director and 
provides administrative support services; and (4) controls the flow of 
correspondence and official documents entering and leaving the Agency.
    Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation. Directs and coordinates 
AHRQ's policy, planning, and evaluation. Specifically, (1) directs and 
coordinates program planning activities

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in fulfillment of the Agency's mission; (2) plans and manages the 
program evaluation activities of the Agency, including evaluations of 
dissemination, training, and research programs; (3) provides support 
and management for the activities of the Agency's National Advisory 
Council; and (4) maintains ongoing liaison with public and private 
sector producers and users of health services research.
    All delegations and redelegations of authority to officers and 
employees of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality officers 
and employees immediately before the effective date of this 
reorganization shall continue in effect pending further redelegation, 
provided they are consistent with this reorganization.
    These changes are effective upon the date of signature.

    Dated: October 3, 2024.
Robert Otto Valdez,
Director.
[FR Doc. 2024-23316 Filed 10-8-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-P