Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 2014 / Notices 4729 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–3293–N] 

Medicare Program; Physician Compare 

Town Hall Meeting, February 24, 2014 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces a 

Town Hall meeting to solicit input from 

stakeholders on the future of the 

Physician Compare Web site. 

Stakeholders will be able to participate 

in the session in person and via 

telephone. Following a short initial 

presentation, the meeting agenda will 

provide the opportunity for on-site 

session attendees to give brief threeminute comments on the issues of 

interest. As time allows, telephone 

participants will also have the 

opportunity to provide brief threeminute comments on these issues. The 

meeting is open to the public, but 

attendance is limited to space available. 

DATES: Registration Date: All 

participants must register by Monday, 

February 17, 2014. Requests for special 

accommodations must be received no 

later than 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard 

Time (e.s.t.) on Friday, February, 21, 

2014. 

Meeting Date: Monday, February 24, 

2014, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. e.s.t.; 

check-in will begin at 12:00 p.m. e.s.t. 

ADDRESSES: Main auditorium (Central 

building) at the Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services, 7500 Security 

Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244. 

Written Questions or Statements: Any 

interested party may send written 

comments by mail or electronically. We 

will accept written testimony, 

questions, or other statements, not to 

exceed two single-spaced, typed pages, 

before the meeting, and up until March 

3, 2014, at 5:00 p.m. e.s.t. Send written 

testimony, questions, or other 

statements to: Division of Electronic and 

Clinician Quality (DECQ), Mailstop S3– 

02–01, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services, 7500 Security Boulevard, 

Baltimore Maryland 21244–1850, 

Attention: Rashaan Byers or Regina 

Chell, or, PhysicianCompare@

Westat.com. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rashaan Byers, (410) 786–2305, 

rashaan.byers@cms.hhs.gov, or Regina 

Chell, (410) 786–6551, regina.chell@

cms.hhs.gov. 

You may also send inquires about this 

meeting via email to 

PhysicianCompare@Westat.com. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Section 10331(a) of the Patient 

Protection and Affordable Care Act 

(Pub. L. 111–148, enacted on March 23, 

2010, as amended by the Health Care 

and Education Reconciliation Act of 

2010, Public Law 111–15, and 

collectively known as the Affordable 

Care Act) requires by January 1, 2013, 

and with respect to reporting periods 

that begin no earlier than January 1, 

2012, that CMS develop a plan for 

making publicly available through 

Physician Compare information on 

physician performance that provides 

comparable information on quality and 

patient experience measures. We met 

this requirement ahead of the deadline, 

and continue to build on the plan 

through rulemaking. 

Specifically, we began finalizing the 

first phase of the plan in the 2012 

Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule 

with comment period (76 FR 73417) and 

the 2013 PFS final rule with comment 

period (77 FR 69166) to add quality data 

to Physician Compare via a phased 

approach. According to this plan, we 

will post the first set of measure data on 

the site in early 2014, reflecting data 

collected in program year 2012, if 

technically feasible. These data will 

include Physician Quality Reporting 

System (PQRS) Group Practice 

Reporting Option (GPRO) measures for 

group practices and Accountable Care 

Organizations (ACOs) collected via the 

web interface. In the 2014 PFS final rule 

with comment period (78 FR 74229), we 

further built on the plan for public 

reporting including PQRS GPRO 

Registry and EHR measures in addition 

to a larger pool of web interface 

measures, as well as Clinician and 

Group Consumer Assessment of 

Healthcare Providers and Systems (CG– 

CAHPS) measures for certain group 

practices and ACOs. We also finalized 

public reporting of 2014 individual 

quality measures in calendar year (CY) 

2015 as specified in the 2014 PFS rule, 

if technically feasible. 

Since Physician Compare’s inception 

in 2010, we have been working 

continually to enhance the site and its 

functionality, improve the information 

available, and include more and 

increasingly useful information about 

physicians and other healthcare 

professionals who take part in Medicare. 

This effort, along with the addition of 

quality measures on the site, will help 

it serve its two-fold purpose: 

• To provide information for 

consumers to encourage informed 

healthcare decisions; and, 

• To create explicit incentives for 

physicians to maximize performance. 

In an effort to maximize Physician 

Compare and make it as useful and 

beneficial as possible for consumers, we 

are seeking input regarding the types of 

information that could potentially be 

included on Physician Compare in the 

future. This Town Hall meeting is an 

opportunity to provide feedback and 

suggestions regarding the future of 

public reporting on Physician Compare. 

We are looking to receive input on 

questions such as, 

• What types of measures could be 

most useful to consumers? 

• What measures would most 

accurately identify quality care? 

• What measures would most 

accurately/completely represent the 

various Medicare specialties? 

• What non-CMS measures should 

potentially be considered for Physician 

Compare and what are the logistical 

means of obtaining these measure data? 

• Is it appropriate to reduce the 

length of the measure preview period 

from 30 days to 2 weeks? 

We are also seeking input regarding 

the inclusion of additional information 

that may be of interest to consumers. 

Specifically, we are looking to receive 

input on questions such as, 

• Is there additional Board 

Certification information we should 

consider including on Physician 

Compare? 

• What other types of quality 

improvement programs or quality 

initiatives should we potentially 

consider publishing participation 

information for? 

• Are there additional medical 

qualifications we should consider 

publishing on Physician Compare? 

• Is there additional healthcare 

professional or group practice 

information we should include on 

Physician Compare, such as office hours 

or Web site addresses, etc.? 

For all of the above questions, we also 

seek input on accessing the most up-todate and accurate data sources for this 

information. 

II. Meeting Format 

The initial portion of the meeting will 

be a short background presentation on 

the Physician Compare Web site and 

public reporting plan to date, followed 

by a presentation setting out the key 

issues of interest for the day. The 

remainder of the meeting will be 

reserved for individual statements from 

interested parties. 

Time for participants to make a 

statement will be limited according to 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
4730 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 2014 / Notices 

the number of registered participants. 

Therefore, individuals who wish to 

make a statement must send an email to 

PhysicianCompare@Westat.com as soon 

as possible to register for the meeting 

and to sign up to make a statement. 

Participants will be permitted to speak 

in the order in which they sign up 

starting with participants who attend in 

person and followed by participants 

who attend via telephone. Comments 

from individuals not registered to speak 

will be heard after scheduled 

statements, only if time permits. Written 

submissions will also be accepted 

through March 3, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. e.s.t. 

III. Registration Instructions 

The Division of Electronic and 

Clinician Quality (DECQ) within the 

Center for Clinical Standards and 

Quality (CCSQ) of CMS is coordinating 

the meeting registration for the Town 

Hall Meeting. Although there is no 

registration fee, individuals must 

register to attend. You may register by 

sending an email to PhysicianCompare@

Westat.com. Please use the subject line 

‘‘Physician Compare Town Hall 

Registration’’ and include your name, 

address, telephone number, email 

address, and, if available, fax number. 

Indicate if you wish to participate in 

person or via telephone. You will 

receive a registration confirmation with 

instructions for your arrival at the CMS 

complex or for accessing the meeting via 

telephone. If capacity has been reached, 

you will be notified that the meeting has 

reached capacity. 

Individuals requiring sign language 

interpretation or other special 

accommodations must send an email to 

PhysicianCompare@Westat.com 

indicating the needed accommodations 

by the date listed in the DATES section 

of this notice. 

IV. Security, Building, and Parking 

Guidelines 

Because this meeting will be located 

on federal property, for security reasons, 

any persons wishing to attend this 

meeting must register by close of 

business on the date specified in the 

DATES section of this notice. Individuals 

who have not registered in advance will 

not be allowed to enter the building to 

attend the meeting. Seating capacity is 

limited to the first 250 registrants. 

The on-site check-in for visitors starts 

at 12:00 p.m. e.s.t. on the day of the 

meeting. Please allow sufficient time to 

go through the security checkpoints. It 

is suggested that you arrive at 7500 

Security Boulevard no later than 12:30 

p.m. so that you will be able to arrive 

promptly at the meeting by 1:00 p.m. 

All items brought to the building, 

whether personal or for the purpose of 

demonstration or to support a 

presentation, are subject to inspection. 

Security measures will include 

inspection of vehicles, inside and out, at 

the entrance to the grounds. Visitors to 

the complex are required to show a 

valid U.S. Government issued photo 

identification, preferably a driver’s 

license, at the time of entry. In addition, 

all persons entering the building must 

pass through a metal detector. All items 

brought to CMS, including personal 

items such as laptops, cell phones, 

smart phones, tablets, etc. are subject to 

physical inspection. 

Authority: (Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance Program No. 93.773, Medicare— 

Hospital Insurance; and Program No. 93.774, 

Medicare—Supplementary Medical 

Insurance Program) 

Dated: January 23, 2014. 

Marilyn Tavenner, 

Administrator, Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. 2014–01642 Filed 1–28–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

Government-Owned Inventions; 

Availability for Licensing 

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, 

HHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The inventions listed below 

are owned by an agency of the U.S. 

Government and are available for 

licensing in the U.S. in accordance with 

35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR part 404 to 

achieve expeditious commercialization 

of results of federally-funded research 

and development. Foreign patent 

applications are filed on selected 

inventions to extend market coverage 

for companies and may also be available 

for licensing. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Licensing information and copies of the 

U.S. patent applications listed below 

may be obtained by writing to the 

indicated licensing contact at the Office 

of Technology Transfer, National 

Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive 

Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville, 

Maryland 20852–3804; telephone: 301– 

496–7057; fax: 301–402–0220. A signed 

Confidential Disclosure Agreement will 

be required to receive copies of the 

patent applications. 

Novel Targets To Prevent Borrelia 

burgdorferi Infection and Lyme Disease 

Description of Technology: B. 

burgdorferi-infected ticks can cause 

Lyme disease in mammalian hosts. This 

technology relates to the use of B. 

burgdorferi outer surface proteins 

(BBA64 and BBA66) as Lyme disease 

vaccine candidates. In vivo animal 

studies demonstrate these outer surface 

proteins inhibit tick-to-host B. 

burgdorferi transmission. Presently, 

there is no vaccine approved for Lyme 

disease. 

This technology may also be used for 

creation of antibodies directed against 

B. burgdorferi. Thus, this innovation 

may prevent B. burgdorferi infection by 

passive immunity and provide new 

diagnostic tools, which will allow early 

intervention. 

Potential Commercial Applications: 

• B. burgdorferi/Lyme disease 

vaccine development 

• B. burgdorferi diagnostics 

• Prevention of B. burgdorferi 

infection by passive immunity 

• Zoonotic/tick-borne disease 

surveillance 

• Public health vaccination programs 

against Lyme disease 

Competitive Advantages: Currently no 

approved Lyme disease vaccines 

Development Stage: 

• Early-stage 

• In vitro data available 

• In vivo data available (animal) 

Inventor: Robert D. Gilmore (CDC) 

Publication: Patton TG, et al. Borrelia 

burgdorferi bba66 gene inactivation 

results in attenuated mouse infection by 

tick transmission. Infect Immun. 2013 

Jul;81(7):2488–98. [PMID 23630963] 

Intellectual Property: HHS Reference 

No. E–573–2013/0—US Provisional 

Application No 61/814,741 filed 22 Apr 

2013 

Licensing Contact: Whitney Blair, J.D., 

M.P.H.; 301–435–4937; whitney.blair@

nih.gov. 

Real-Time RT–PCR Assay for Detection 

and Quantification of Hepatitis D Virus 

Infection 

Description of Technology: CDC 

scientists have developed a one-step 

TaqMan quantitative/real-time reverse 

transcription-polymerase chain reaction 

(qRT–PCR) assay for detecting hepatitis 

D virus (HDV) RNA. Additionally, a 

quantifiable synthetic RNA control to 

determine viral load has been created. 

HDV is an operatively defective virus 

that requires hepatitis B virus (HBV) 

surface antigen (HBsAg) for its 

assembly. Compared to individuals 

infected with HBV alone, individuals 

infected with both HDV and HBV 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES