[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 120 (Thursday, June 23, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-15333]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: June 23, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Resources and Services Administration
RIN 0905-ZA62
Program Announcement and Proposed Program Requirements and Review
Criteria for Cooperative Agreements for Centers for Medical Education
Research for Fiscal Year 1994
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announces
that applications will be accepted for fiscal year (FY) 1994
Cooperative Agreements for Centers for Medical Education Research.
These cooperative agreements will be funded under the authority of
section 781, title VII of the Public Health Service Act, as amended by
the Health Professions Education Extension Amendments of 1992, Pub. L.
102-408, dated October 13, 1992. Section 781 authorizes research on
certain health professions issues. For this cooperative agreement
program, research will focus on the medical education aspects of this
legislation. Comments are invited on the proposed program requirements
and review criteria.
It is anticipated that $550,000 will be available to support 2
competing awards averaging $275,000 in FY 1994. Because of the limited
number of awards anticipated, the FY 1994 cooperative agreement cycle
applications will focus only on the medical education research aspects
of section 781. This should maximize the effective use of available
funding for FY 1994. For this program, ``medical education'' is defined
as education provided to individuals working toward the M.D. or D.O.
degree, or as post-graduate M.D./D.O. education in an accredited
residency or fellowship program.
Purpose
The purpose of the Cooperative Agreements for Centers for Medical
Education Research is to support research in medical education,
especially regarding existing or proposed federal policies and programs
and regarding the impact of federal initiatives aimed at improving the
training of health professionals and at meeting national workforce
goals.
Section 781 of the Public Health Service Act authorizes the
Secretary to award cooperative agreements for the purpose of:
(a) Conducting research on the extent to which the debt incurred by
medical students for attendance at educational institutions has had a
detrimental effect on the decisions made by the students on entering
primary care specialties;
(b) Conducting research on the effects that federally-funded
educational programs or policies for minority or disadvantaged
individuals have on:
(A) The number of such individuals attending health professions
schools;
(B) The number of such individuals completing the programs of
education involved; and
(C) The decisions made by such individuals on which of the health
professions specialties to enter;
(c) Conducting research on the effectiveness of the States in
protecting the public health through:
(1) Identifying health care providers with respect to whom
investigations of professional qualifications are warranted;
(2) Conducting such investigations; and
(3) Taking disciplinary actions against health care providers
determined through such investigations to have engaged in conduct
inconsistent with protecting the public health;
(d) Conducting research:
(A) To determine the extent to which Federal programs and related
financial incentives influence the percentage of medical school
graduates selecting a primary care career;
(B) To determine the extent to which Federal programs and related
financial incentives adequately support the training of mid-level
primary care providers relative to other health professions education
receiving Federal assistance;
(C) To assess the impact that direct and indirect payments for
graduate medical education (including the appropriateness of payments
for independent, ambulatory training sites) have on increasing the
percentage of physicians graduating from medical school who enter
primary care careers;
(D) To assess the impact of medical school admissions policies on
specialty selection and recommend ways admission policies can better
facilitate and promote the selection of primary care as a medical
career;
(E) To assess the impact of Federal funding for biomedical research
on the design of medical school curriculum and the availability of
primary care educational opportunities;
(F) To assess the impact of medical school curriculum, including
the availability of clinical training in ambulatory care settings, on
the percentage of physicians selecting primary care residencies and
selecting primary care as a medical career; and
(G) To assess the extent to which current physician payment
policies under resource based relative value scale are sufficient to
encourage physicians graduating from medical school to enter and remain
in primary care careers.
In conducting research relative to educational indebtedness, the
Secretary shall provide for a determination of the reasons underlying
the rate of increase occurring since January 1, 1981, in tuition and
fees for attending health professions schools. The Secretary shall also
ensure that the determination includes the justifications of such
schools for such rate. This requirement is being addressed through
another funding mechanism and is not required for these cooperative
agreements.
In conducting research relative to effect of programs for minority
and disadvantaged individuals, the applicant will make findings
specific to the following categories of health professions schools:
(A) Health professions schools of historically black colleges and
universities.
(B) Other health professions schools attended by a substantial
number of minority individuals.
(C) Health professions schools generally.
Applications for the FY 1994 cooperative agreement cycle should
focus only on the medical education aspects of the above purposes for
section 781. Cooperative agreements under this authority may be awarded
for project periods up to 3 years.
Definitions
The term, ``primary care careers,'' with respect to medicine, means
family practice, general internal medicine and general pediatrics.
The term ``mid-level primary care health professions'' means
physician assistants, nurse practitioners and nurse midwives.
Substantial Programmatic Involvement
Personnel of the Bureau of Health Professions will have substantial
programmatic involvement with the planning, developing and
administering of each Center for Medical Education Research and its
outputs by:
1. Participating in identification of medical education research
priorities;
2. Assisting in the selection of research projects. This includes,
but is not limited to, providing substantial guidance on Federal
policy-relevant issues, and issues of particular national interest,
that require research;
3. Participating in the approval of study protocols and
methodologies;
4. Participating in review and selection of sub-contracts awarded
under the Cooperative Agreement. If sub-contracts are awarded via a
competitive process, a representative of the Bureau will serve on the
review panel which will evaluate applications;
5. Supplying data in areas relevant to studies of the physician
workforce. When data are not directly available from the Bureau of
Health Professions, Bureau personnel will assist in identifying sources
of data such as other federal agencies, and other public and private
organizations;
6. Coordinating the sharing of data and other information between
different Centers for Medical Education Research;
7. Assisting with the preparation of project results for
publication in peer-reviewed journals; Bureau staff may serve as
coauthor(s) when degree of involvement warrants; and
8. Providing information about numerous federal programs that
impact medical education.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants include public and non-profit private entities.
Proposed Program Requirements
The award recipient shall participate in the cost of the program as
follows: For each year funds are awarded under this program, the
matching contribution shall be at least one-third of the amount of the
Federal award for that year. Up to 50% of the recipient's matching
contribution may be in the form of in-kind donations of faculty time,
staff time, use of computers or other shared resources.
In addition, each applicant shall evidence that training related to
medical education research is occurring or is planned by the
organization.
National Health Objectives for the Year 2000
The Public Health Service urges applicants to submit work plans
that address specific objectives of Healthy People 2000. Potential
applicants may obtain a copy of Healthy People 2000 (Full Report; Stock
No. 017-001-00474-0) or Healthy People 2000 (Summary Report; Stock No.
017-001-00473-1) through the Superintendent of Documents, Government
Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402-9325 (Telephone 202-783-3238).
Education and Service Linkage
As part of its long-range planning, HRSA will be targeting its
efforts to strengthening linkages between U.S. Public Health Service
education programs and programs which provide comprehensive primary
care services to the underserved.
Smoke-Free Workplace
The Public Health Service strongly encourages all grant recipients
to provide a smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use of all
tobacco products. This is consistent with the PHS mission to protect
and advance the physical and mental health of the American people.
Proposed Review Criteria
The following criteria are proposed for review of applications for
this program:
(1) The qualifications and achievements of the proposed center's
principal investigator and senior researchers, including level of
productivity and quality of research in medical education;
(2) Demonstration of an understanding of the particular subject
areas of medical education research that are relevant to Federal
policies and evidence of ability to manage research in such areas;
(3) The appropriateness of the time commitments of the principal
investigator and senior researchers;
(4) The strength of the applicant's plan to actively promote
dissemination of research findings to all health professionals involved
in education and training--including those whom are primarily
practitioners, and to relevant policy makers;
(5) The appropriateness of the proposed budget;
(6) The planned level of commitment to the center from the
applicant institution, as evidenced by specific plans for the type of
financial support that will be offered, and for support of the
organizational structure of the center. Evidence of a prior
institutional commitment to generalizable research in medical education
will also be sought;
(7) The past success and future potential of the proposed center's
researchers in receiving funding from other sources; and
(8) The likely effectiveness of the organizational and management
arrangements to operate the proposed center.
Additional Information
Interested persons are invited to comment on the proposed program
requirements and review criteria. The comment period is 30 days. All
comments received on or before July 25, 1994, will be considered before
the final program requirements and review criteria are established.
Written comments should be addressed to: Mr. B. Jerald McClendon,
Director, Office of Health Professions Analysis and Research, Bureau of
Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration,
Parklawn Building, Room 8-47, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland
20857.
All comments received will be available for public inspection and
copying at the Office of Health Professions Analysis and Research,
Bureau of Health Professions, at the above address, weekdays (Federal
holidays excepted) between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Application Requests
Application materials will be sent only to those entities making a
request. Requests for application materials and questions regarding
grants policy and business management issues should be directed to: Ms.
Diane Murray, Grants Management Specialist, Bureau of Health
Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration, Parklawn
Building, Room 8C-26, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857,
Telephone: (301) 443-6857, Fax: (301) 443-6343. Completed applications
should be returned to the Grants Management Branch at the above
address.
If additional programmatic information is needed, please contact:
Dr. Brian Goldstein, Office of Health Professions Analysis and
Research, Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services
Administration, Parklawn Building, Room 8-47, 5600 Fishers Lane,
Rockville, Maryland 20857, Telephone: (301) 443-6936, Fax: (301) 443-
0463.
The standard application form PHS 398, Application for Public
Health Service Grant, will be used for this program and has been
approved by the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork
Reduction Act. The OMB Clearance Number is 0925-0001.
The deadline date for receipt of applications is August 2, 1994.
Applications will be considered to be ``on time'' if they are either:
(1) Received on or before the established deadline date, or
(2) Sent on or before the established deadline date and received in
time for orderly processing. (Applicants should request a legibly dated
U.S. Postal Service postmark or obtain a legibly dated receipt from a
commercial carrier or U.S. Postal Service. Private metered postmarks
shall not be acceptable as proof of timely mailing.)
Late applications not accepted for processing will be returned to
the applicant.
This program, Cooperative Agreements for Centers for Medical
Education Research, has been submitted to be included in the Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance. It is not subject to the provisions of
Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs (as
implemented through 45 CFR part 100). This program is not subject to
the Public Health System Reporting Requirements.
Dated: May 2, 1994.
Ciro V. Sumaya,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-15333 Filed 6-22-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-15-P
