Q -- MEDICAL SERVICES -- PRESOLICITATION CONFERENCE TO CONDUCT MARKET RESEARCH

Notice Date

January 16, 2001

Contracting Office

Health Care Financing Administration, Acquisition and Grants Group, C2-21-15, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD., 21244-1850

ZIP Code

21244-1850

Response Due

February 2, 2001

Point of Contact

Sherry Carlos 410-786-7232

E-Mail Address

Click here to email the contact individual. (scarlos@hcfa.gov)

Description

The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) will hold a presolicitation conference on Wednesday, February 21, 2001 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at HCFA's headquarters in Baltimore. The purpose of this meeting is to conduct market research in order to assist HCFA in drafting requirements for the 7th contract cycle for Peer Review Organization (PRO) contracts scheduled to begin in August 2002. Prior to the meeting we are requesting written comments from interested organizations on potential new PRO work and suggestions about how PROs can better accomplish HCFA's quality improvement goals. Written comments are requested by February 2, 2001. Please provide written comments to Terry Ng of the Office of Clinical Standards and Quality's Quality Improvement Group at 7500 Security Boulevard, M/S S3-02-01, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850 or TNg@hcfa.gov, no later than February 2, 2001. Be certain to include the name of a contact person at your organization. We thank you in advance for your comments and suggestions; however, due to the nature of the procurement process, we will not respond directly to your comments. We are interested in your comments even if you do not plan to attend the meeting. While the meeting is open to the public, the amount of space is limited. Therefore, registration is not guaranteed. To express an interest in attending the February 21 meeting, please fax your name, title, organization, address, phone number, fax number, and e-mail address to Ms. Carlos at 410-786-9286 no later than February 2, 2001. After February 2, we will evaluate the available space and provide interested organizations with additional information about the meeting. We expect goals of the 7th SoW to be similar to the current contracts, but there may be changes to the way PRO work is done and room for new topics. The PRO program represents the primary vehicle for improving the quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries. HCFA awards 3-year contracts to 53 PRO organizations, covering each state, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. In general, the purpose of the PRO program is to: 1) improve quality of care for beneficiaries through cooperative efforts between PROs and health care providers and practitioners as part of national and local projects. Sixth SoW national projects include 6 clinical topics -- acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, pneumonia, stroke, diabetes, and breast cancer. All PROs must participate in all national topics, and are evaluated with respect to the amount of improvement demonstrated within their state on a number of related indicators. Additionally, PROs must do a variety of developmental and local projects, relating to care in settings such as nursing homes, home health agencies, dialysis facilities, physician offices, and for the purpose of reducing disparities in care for selected populations; 2) protect the integrity of the Medicare Trust Fund by ensuring Medicare only pays for reasonable and medically necessary services and items delivered in the most economical setting. PROs also try to increase the accuracy of payment for inpatient services; and 3) address beneficiary complaints, appeals regarding notices of non-coverage, anti-dumping violations, and other statutory responsibilities. HCFA plans to continue with the same overall structure of the Statement of Work. However, we expect to expand the performance measure for acute myocardial infarction, expand the stroke area to reducing complications of carotid endarterectomy, and initiate a project on prevention of surgical site infections. We are interested in receiving input on these as well as other potential topics for the next PRO contract cycle. More information on the current PRO statement of work is on the Internet at:http://www.hcfa.gov/quality/5b.htm (under "Request for Proposal" about half way down the web page).

Web Link

Click here to review a copy of the SoW (http://www.hcfa.gov/quality/5b.htm )

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010118/QSOL001.HTM (W-016 SN50A9X9)