4202 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 14 / Friday, January 23, 2009 / Notices 

submitted manuscripts, and grant 

applications submitted to NIH in 2004, 

he falsely claimed that transgenic mice 

had been generated with the monofunctional lentiviral vectors with c– 

Myc, Ras or Akt under the control of the 

CD4 promoter, when they had not, and 

that transgenic mice had been generated 

with the bi-functional lentiviral vectors 

with CD4–c–Myc, Ras or Akt– and U6– 

shRNAs targeting luciferase, Bcl–2, or 

Bim proteins, when they had not. The 

effect of these misrepresentations was 

the reported false conclusion that a 

cytokine-stimulated proto-oncogene 

network regulated CD4+ T-cell survival 

and responses to foreign and self 

antigens. 

8. While at MIT, Dr. Luk Van Parijs 

admitted that in presentations and 

submitted manuscripts in 2004, he 

falsely claimed that mice injected with 

plasmids carrying shRNAs for Bcl–2, 

Akt1 and Akt2, complexed to 

polyethylene imine (PEI) showed a 

significant reduction in c–myc-induced 

tumor growth, when the experiments 

had not been done. 

9. While at MIT, Dr. Luk Van Parijs 

admitted that in presentations in 2004, 

he falsely claimed that shRNAs 

designed using algorithms developed in 

2004 were more effective to silence 

target genes than the shRNAs designed 

with algorithms in 2002. 

10. While at MIT, Dr. Luk Van Parijs 

admitted that in multiple presentations, 

submitted manuscripts, a grant 

application submitted to NIH, and in the 

text of Current Opinions in Molec. 

Therapeutics, 6:136, 2004, he falsely 

claimed that an in vivo RNAi screen 

was developed to identify genes in 

cytokine and apoptosis pathways that 

accelerated or suppressed Myc-induced 

tumorigenesis in lethally irradiated 

mice, by using bi-functional lentiviral 

vectors that expressed c-Myc under 

control of the CMV enhancer-b-actin 

promoter (CAG) and U6-driven shRNAs 

designed to silence 168 selected genes, 

when the experiments had not been 

done. 

11. While at MIT, Dr. Luk Van Parijs 

admitted that in a submitted manuscript 

in 2004 and a grant application 

submitted to NIH in 2003, he falsely 

claimed that with the use of retroviral 

vectors with Bim and activated Ras, Akt 

or Myc, he showed that the IL–2- 

stimulated activation of proto-oncogene 

pathways functioned to promote the 

survival of T cells following antigen 

encounter by regulating Bim and Bcl–2 

pathways, when the experiments that 

were performed were inconclusive. 

Dr. Van Parijs has entered into a 

Voluntary Exclusion Agreement in 

which he has voluntarily agreed, for a 

period of five (5) years, beginning on 

December 22, 2008: 

(1) to exclude himself from any 

contracting or subcontracting with any 

agency of the United States Government 

and from eligibility or involvement in 

nonprocurement programs of the United 

States Government referred to as 

‘‘covered transactions’’ pursuant to 

HHS’ Implementation (2 CFR Part 376 et 

seq.) of OMB Guidelines to Agencies on 

Government wide Debarment and 

Suspension (2 CFR, Part 180); and 

(2) To exclude himself from serving in 

any advisory capacity to PHS, including 

but not limited to service on any PHS 

advisory committee, board, and/or peer 

review committee, or as a consultant. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Director, Division of Investigative 

Oversight, Office of Research Integrity, 

1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 750, 

Rockville, MD 20852, (240) 453–8800. 

Dated: January 14, 2009. 

Chris B. Pascal, 

Director, Office of Research Integrity. 

[FR Doc. E9–1453 Filed 1–22–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4150–31–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Committee on Vital and Health 

Statistics: Meeting 

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act, the Department of 

Health and Human Services (HHS) 

announces the following advisory 

committee meeting. 

Name: National Committee on Vital and 

Health Statistics (NCVHS), Full Committee 

Meeting. 

Time and Date: 

February 25, 2009, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. February 

26, 2009, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. 

Place: Hubert Humphrey Building, 200 

Independence Avenue, SW., Room 505A, 

Washington, DC 20201. 

Status: Open. 

Purpose: At this meeting the Committee 

will hear presentations and hold discussions 

on several health data policy topics. On the 

morning of the first day the Committee will 

hear updates from the Department, the HHS 

Data Council, the Center for Medicare and 

Medicaid Services, as well as update on the 

transition to the new administration. There 

will also be an ONC update on the NHIN 

Conference. In the afternoon there will be a 

speaker on de-identification of health data 

from the Center for Democracy and 

Technology. 

On the morning of the second day there 

will be a briefing on international 

terminology and an update on Health 

Statistics for the 21st Century. There will also 

be an update from NCHS Board of Scientific 

Counselors and an overview of emerging and 

innovative sources of health data. 

The times shown above are for the full 

Committee meeting. Subcommittee breakout 

sessions can be scheduled for late in the 

afternoon of the first day and second day and 

in the morning prior to the full Committee 

meeting on the second day. Agendas for these 

breakout sessions will be posted on the 

NCVHS website (URL below) when available. 

For Further Information Contact: 

Substantive program information as well as 

summaries of meetings and a roster of 

committee members may be obtained from 

Marjorie S. Greenberg, Executive Secretary, 

NCVHS, National Center for Health Statistics, 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 

3311 Toledo Road, Room 2402, Hyattsville, 

Maryland 20782, telephone (301) 458–4245. 

Information also is available on the NCVHS 

home page of the HHS Web site: http:// 

www.ncvhs.hhs.gov/, where further 

information including an agenda will be 

posted when available. 

Should you require reasonable 

accommodation, please contact the CDC 

Office of Equal Employment Opportunity on 

(301) 458–4EEO (4336) as soon as possible. 

Dated: January 12, 2009. 

James Scanlon, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Science and 

Data Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary 

for Planning and Evaluation. 

[FR Doc. E9–1445 Filed 1–22–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4151–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[Document Identifier: CMS–10273] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services. 

In compliance with the requirement 

of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services (CMS) is publishing the 

following summary of proposed 

collections for public comment. 

Interested persons are invited to send 

comments regarding this burden 

estimate or any other aspect of this 

collection of information, including any 

of the following subjects: (1) The 

necessity and utility of the proposed 

information collection for the proper 

performance of the agency’s functions; 

(2) the accuracy of the estimated 

burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and (4) the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology to 

minimize the information collection 

burden. 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 14 / Friday, January 23, 2009 / Notices 4203 

1. Type of Information Collection 

Request: New collection; Title of 

Information Collection: Evaluation of 

the Medicare Care Management 

Performance Demonstration (MCMP) 

and the Electronic Health Records 

Demonstration (EHRD); Use: The MCMP 

demonstration was authorized under 

Section 649 of the Medicare 

Prescription Drug, Improvement, and 

Modernization Act of 2003. This is a 

three year pay for performance 

demonstration with physicians to 

promote the adoption and use of health 

information technology (HIT) to 

improve the quality of care for eligible 

chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries. 

MCMP targets small to medium sized 

primary care practices with up to 10 

physicians. Practices must provide care 

to at least 50 Medicare beneficiaries. 

Physicians will receive payments for 

meeting or exceeding performance 

standards for quality of care. They will 

also receive an additional incentive 

payment for electronic submission of 

performance measures via their 

electronic health record (EHR) system. 

These payments are in addition to their 

normal payments for providing service 

to Medicare beneficiaries. The Office 

System Survey (OSS) will be used to 

assess progress of physician practices in 

implementation and use of EHRs and 

related HIT functionalities. 

The EHR demonstration is authorized 

under section 402 of the Medicare 

Waiver Authority. The goal of this six 

year pay for performance demonstration 

is to foster the implementation and 

adoption of EHRs and HIT in order to 

improve the quality of care provided by 

physician practices. The EHRD expands 

upon the MCMP Demonstration and 

will test whether performance-based 

financial incentives (1) increase 

physician practices’ adoption and use of 

electronic health records (EHRs), and (2) 

improve the quality of care that 

practices deliver to chronically ill 

patients. The EHRD targets small to 

medium sized primary care practices 

with up to 20 physicians. Practices must 

provide care to at least 50 Medicare 

beneficiaries. Approximately 2,400 

practices will be enrolled in the 

demonstration across 12 sites. Practices 

will be randomly assigned to a 

treatment and control group. The OSS 

will be used to assess progress of 

physician practices in implementation 

and use of EHRs and related HIT 

functionalities, and to determine 

incentive payments for treatment 

practices. In-person and telephone 

discussions with community partners 

and physician practices will be used to 

learn about practices’ experiences and 

strategies in adopting and using EHRs, 

as well as the factors that help or hinder 

their efforts. Form Number: CMS–10273 

(OMB# 0938—New); Frequency: 

Annually, Biennially and Once; 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit; Number of Respondents: 3434; 

Total Annual Responses: 3434; Total 

Annual Hours: 2586. 

To obtain copies of the supporting 

statement and any related forms for the 

proposed paperwork collections 

referenced above, access CMS’ Web site 

at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/Paperwork

ReductionActof1995, or E-mail your 

request, including your address, phone 

number, OMB number, and CMS 

document identifier, to 

Paperwork@cms.hhs.gov, or call the 

Reports Clearance Office on (410) 786– 

1326. 

In commenting on the proposed 

information collections please reference 

the document identifier or OMB control 

number. To be assured consideration, 

comments and recommendations must 

be submitted in one of the following 

ways by March 24, 2009: 

1. Electronically. You may submit 

your comments electronically to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for ‘‘Comment or 

Submission’’ or ‘‘More Search Options’’ 

to find the information collection 

document(s) accepting comments. 

2. By regular mail. You may mail 

written comments to the following 

address: CMS, Office of Strategic 

Operations and Regulatory Affairs, 

Division of Regulations Development, 

Attention: Document Identifier/OMB 

Control Number l, Room C4–26–05, 

7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, 

Maryland 21244–1850. 

Dated: January 14, 2009. 

Michelle Shortt, 

Director, Regulations Development Group, 

Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory 

Affairs. 

[FR Doc. E9–1435 Filed 1–22–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–2899–FN] 

Medicare and Medicaid Programs; 

Approval of the Accreditation 

Commission for Health Care, 

Incorporated for Continued Deeming 

Authority for Home Health Agencies 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. 

ACTION: Final notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces our 

decision to approve the Accreditation 

Commission for Health Care, 

Incorporated (ACHC) for continued 

recognition as a national accreditation 

program for home health agencies 

(HHAs) seeking to participate in the 

Medicare or Medicaid programs. 

DATES: Effective Date: This final notice 

is effective February 24, 2009 through 

February 24, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lillian Williams, (410) 786–8636. 

Patricia Chmielewski, (410) 786–6899. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Under the Medicare program, eligible 

beneficiaries may receive selected 

covered services from a home health 

agency (HHA) provided certain 

requirements are met. Sections 1861(m) 

and (o), 1891, and 1895 of the Social 

Security Act (the Act) authorize the 

Secretary to establish distinct criteria for 

facilities seeking designation as an 

HHA. Under this authority, the 

minimum requirements that an HHA 

must meet to participate in Medicare are 

set forth in regulations at 42 CFR part 

484 and 42 CFR part 409, which 

determine the basis and scope of HHAcovered services, and the conditions for 

Medicare payment for home health care. 

Regulations concerning provider 

agreements are at 42 CFR part 489 and 

those pertaining to activities relating to 

the survey and certification of facilities 

are at 42 CFR part 488. 

Generally, to enter into an agreement, 

an HHA must first be certified by a State 

survey agency as complying with 

conditions or requirements set forth in 

part 484 of our regulations. Then, the 

HHA is subject to regular surveys by a 

State survey agency to determine 

whether it continues to meet those 

requirements. There is an alternative, 

however, to surveys by State agencies. 

Section 1865(a)(1) of the Act (as 

redesignated under section 125 of the 

Medicare Improvements for Patients and 

Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) (Pub. L. 

110–275) provides that, if a provider 

entity demonstrates through 

accreditation by an approved national 

accreditation organization that all 

applicable Medicare conditions are met 

or exceeded, we may ‘‘deem’’ those 

provider entities as having met 

Medicare requirements. (We note that 

section 125 of MIPPA redesignated 

subsections (b) through (e) of subsection 

1865 of the Act as (a) through (d) 

respectively.) Accreditation by an 

accreditation organization is voluntary 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES