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[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 68 (Friday, April 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16398-16399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-8122]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary

Public Meeting of the Federal Coordinating Council on Comparative 
Effectiveness Research

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: Authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 
2009 (ARRA), the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative 
Effectiveness Research will help coordinate research and guide 
investments in comparative effectiveness research funded by the 
Recovery Act. The Coordinating Council is holding this meeting to hear 
from the public about their views on the Council's activities.

DATES: The meeting, which is the first of three public meetings that 
the Coordinating Council expects to convene, will be held on Tuesday, 
April 14, 2009, from 2 p.m.-5 p.m. EDT.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 
Room 800, 200 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20201. In 
addition, the meeting will be Web cast and individuals may also 
participate by audioconference.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Conway, Office of the 
Secretary, HHS, Telephone: 202-690-7388; e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Coordinating Council will assist the 
agencies of the Federal government, including HHS, Departments of 
Veterans Affairs and Defense, as well as others, to coordinate 
comparative effectiveness and related health services research. The 
Coordinating Council also will provide input on priorities for the $400 
million fund in the Recovery Act that the Secretary will allocate to 
advance this type of research.
    The Coordinating Council will not recommend clinical guidelines for 
payment, coverage or treatment. The Coordinating Council will consider 
the needs of populations served by Federal programs and opportunities 
to build and expand on current investments and priorities.
    Registration and Other Information About the Meeting:
    Individuals may participate in the meeting either by attending in 
person, viewing the meeting over the Internet, or by audioconference. 
Individuals may also nominate themselves to make a 3-minute statement 
before the Coordinating Council. In addition, individuals may submit 
written statements for the Coordinating Council's consideration, 
regardless of whether individuals are chosen to give an oral statement. 
The Coordinating Council does request that individuals nominating 
themselves to make an oral statement make every effort to be present to 
give their statement in person. However, to facilitate hearing as many 
different viewpoints as possible, consideration will be given to 
individuals who would make their oral statements via audioconference.
    Oral statements, as well as written statements submitted for the 
Coordinating Council's consideration, should address the following 
kinds of questions:
     What types of investments in infrastructure for 
comparative effectiveness research should the Coordinating Council 
consider?
     What criteria should the Coordinating Council consider 
when evaluating different investment options?
     What Federal government activities in the area of 
comparative effectiveness research should the Coordinating Council 
focus its attention on?
     How can the Coordinating Council best foster integration 
of these activities across the programs managed by the Departments of 
Health and Human Services, Defense, and Veterans Affairs?
     What steps should the Coordinating Council consider to 
help ensure that public- and private-sector efforts in the area of 
comparative effectiveness research are mutually supportive?
     What information on the Coordinating Council's activities 
would be most useful?
    The Office of the Secretary requests that interested persons 
register to participate and indicate (a) whether they will attend in 
person, view the Coordinating Council's meeting over the Internet, or 
listen by audioconference; (b) whether they are nominating themselves 
to give a 3-minute oral statement; and/or, (c) if they intend to submit 
a written statement for the Coordinating Council to consider. Per 
Section 3, ``Ensuring Responsible Spending of Recovery Act Funds,'' 74 
FR 12531, 12533 (March 25, 2009), individuals who wish to make an oral 
statement will be asked to disclose whether they are registered 
lobbyists.
    Individuals should register to participate no later than Monday, 
April 13, at 5 p.m., EDT. Due to time constraints, not everyone who 
volunteers to make an oral statement will be able to do so. However, 
all statements received will be considered by the Coordinating Council 
as part of their deliberations.
    To register, go to http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/CER/index.html and select the page for the Federal Coordinating Council for 
Comparative Effectiveness Research. Individuals who do not register in 
advance will only be able to attend the meeting in person if space is 
available. Information on how to view the meeting over the Internet and 
participate by audioconference will be sent to registered participants 
in advance and posted on the Recovery.gov Web site on Tuesday morning, 
April 14, 2009. The number of audioconference lines for non-registered 
participants may be limited.
    If sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodation 
for a disability is needed, please contact Mr. Donald L. Inniss, 
Director, Office of Equal Employment Opportunity Program, Program 
Support Center, on (301) 443-1144.
    Each public meeting is scheduled for a three-hour period, but will 
end sooner if participants have finished providing input before the 
time period expires. We are asking for input concerning specific topics 
as follows:
    To help interested individuals prepare for the meetings, we invite 
review of the Act. The full text is set forth on the Internet at: 
http://www.qpoaccess.gov/plaws/ (search for ``Public Law 111-50'').
    Also, the Office of the Secretary has an e-mail notification list 
to provide interested parties with automatic notification of relevant 
information posted on Recovery.gov and the HHS Web site (http:I/
www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/CERlindex.html) concerning the Federal 
Coordinating Council. To be added to the e-mail notification list, send 
your e-mail address to CoordinatinqCouncifthhs.gov, and use the words 
``Add me to the list'' in the subject line.

[[Page 16399]]

    Dated: April 6, 2009.
Carolyn M. Clancy,
 Director.
[FR Doc. E9-8122 Filed 4-9-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-M
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