***SPECIAL PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD NOW OPEN***
The NCI Advocates in Research Working Group has completed its final recommendations on the most effective ways to engage individual advocates in NCI activities. Now is the time for you to view the recommendations and provide input and public comment.
The recommendations focus on:
1. Recruitment of individual advocates for NCI activities
2. Assessment and matching of individual advocates with NCI activities
3. Training and coaching of advocates and staff to prepare for the research advocacy engagement
4. Facilitating the engagement process
5. Evaluating and tracking advocacy engagement
6. Retaining research advocates and NCI staff and promoting successful engagements
All comments on the ARWG recommendations must be received by November 30, 2009 in order to be considered. Email your comments to nciadvocacywg@mail.nih.gov or send by mail to Shannon Bell, Office of Advocacy Relations, 31 Center Drive, Room 10A28, Bethesda, MD 20892-2580.
Public Comment Requested on NCCAM Strategic Planning
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
As part of its strategic planning process, NCCAM is seeking broad input from many communities, including researchers, health care providers, CAM providers, educators, and the public. An initial step in the planning process is seeking stakeholder comments on three "big picture" topics: (1) Mission, (2) Priority setting, and (3) Information and communication.
These topics are central to any strategic plan and they are highly interconnected. Mission is closely connected to priority setting, which in turn hinges on impact, which leads to the questions of who knows, who cares, and who is listening and how information is disseminated. The three papers are intended to provide some background and context for considering these issues. We invite you to send us your thoughts on a series of issues included at the conclusion of each paper.
Submit comments on NCCAM's Mandate and Mission, Priority Setting, or Information and Communication by November 19, 2009.
HIPAA Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information Comment Needed
Office for Civil Rights
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposes to modify certain provisions of the "Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information" (Privacy Rule), issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The purpose of these proposed modifications is to implement section 105 of Title I of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) regarding the privacy and confidentiality of genetic information, as well as to make certain other changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule. More information about HIPAA may be found online.
Submit comments online by December 7, 2009.
Comment on Draft Report: Diagnosis and Treatment of Secondary Lymphedema
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
The Technology Assessment program at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) provides technology assessments for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). These technology assessments are used by CMS to inform its national coverage decisions for the Medicare program as well as provide information to Medicare carriers. The primary goals of the technology assessment were to examine the performance of diagnostic tests for preclinical or clinically significant secondary lymphedema, as well as to assess conservative, non-pharmacological and non-surgical treatments for secondary lymphedema.
Submit comments online by December 8, 2009.
National Coverage Decision: Positron Emission Tomography for Initial Treatment Strategy in Solid Tumors and Myeloma
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Section 220.6.17 of the National Coverage Determination (NCD) Manual establishes coverage for only one FDG PET scan for guiding initial antitumor treatment strategy for beneficiaries who have solid tumors and myeloma that are biopsy proven or strongly suspected of being cancer based on other diagnostic testing, when the beneficiary's treating physician determines that the FDG PET study is needed to determine the location and/or extent of tumor for various therapeutic purposes. The requestors have asked CMS to reconsider Section 220.6.17 to remove the restriction that only one FDG PET scan may be performed as part of guiding the initial antitumor treatment strategy.
Submit comments online by December 9, 2009.
National Coverage Analysis: Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) for Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
This NCA will evaluate the available evidence to determine whether a national coverage determination is warranted for the use of allogeneic stem cell transplantation for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome. CMS considers all public comments, and is particularly interested in any additional recent clinical studies and other scientific information related to the outcomes of this treatment when used on Medicare patients. If the evidence is determined to be inadequate for coverage, we are especially interested in what types of studies are needed.
Submit comments online by December 10, 2009.
Extension of Comment Period on Tobacco Act Implementation
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is extending the comment period for the implementation of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (the Tobacco Act). The agency is taking this action in response to a request for an extension to allow interested persons additional time to submit comments.
On June 22, 2009, the President signed H.R. 1256, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, into law, granting FDA important new authority to regulate the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of tobacco products to protect the public health generally and to reduce tobacco use by minors. The Tobacco Act authorizes FDA to require disclosure of tobacco product ingredients and additives; regulate "modified risk" tobacco products; create standards for tobacco products, including standards for the reduction or elimination of certain constituents; restrict sales, distribution, advertising, and promotion of tobacco products; and require stronger health warnings on packaging. The Tobacco Act also requires FDA to issue its 1996 final regulation restricting the sale and distribution of nicotine-containing cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. The rule contains provisions designed to limit young people's access to tobacco products, as well as restrictions on marketing to curb the appeal of these products to minors.
We are requesting comments that will inform strategies to protect the public health as we implement this new authority. We are particularly interested in comments on the approaches and actions the agency should consider initially to increase the likelihood of reducing the incidence and prevalence of tobacco product use and protecting the public health. Although the agency will not respond to specific suggestions, we will consider them in establishing the new Center for Tobacco Products and in implementing the Tobacco Act.
View the original Request For Comments for more information or submit comments online by December 28, 2009.
Request for Information: Consumer Health Information Interests and Behaviors for Seeking and Using Health Information
National Institutes of Health
This Request For Information (RFI) will provide insight and better understanding of the health information needs and information-seeking behaviors of NIH health consumer audiences. Information gathered will assist the agency in developing and disseminating health, medical, and scientific information to a broader variety of audiences. The agency anticipates using new outreach strategies and tools, from community-level outlets to Internet-based social media. Members of the public as well as organizations are invited and encouraged to participate in this public input opportunity.
The purpose of this RFI is to obtain information to help the NIH strengthen short- and long-term communications strategies while identifying cost-effective, meritorious, innovative, and legally sanctioned methods and outlets for disseminating health information to the public. Specifically, the RFI seeks information on: the current state and range of health information-seeking behaviors and trends; the range of health information of interest to the public; how the public accesses and uses health information; and the barriers that might impede NIH's ability to communicate with health consumers.
Submit comments by email to HealthInfoRFI@mail.nih.gov, online, or in PDF (en Espanol) by December 30, 2009.
Help Us Make a Healthier Nation. Be Part of the Dialogue.
Office of Disease Prevention & Health Promotion
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services invites you to comment on the DRAFT set of objectives for Healthy People 2020. For three decades, Healthy People has provided a set of national 10-year health promotion and disease prevention objectives aimed at improving the health of all Americans.
As part of Phase II, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is requesting public comments on the draft set of proposed objectives for Healthy People 2020. You are invited to comment on the proposed objectives and topic areas and to suggest additional objectives and topic areas that you feel are missing from the draft set. Objectives must meet specific criteria.
View the objectives for cancer and submit comments online by December 31, 2009.
Comments Needed: FDA Use of Internet and Social Media Tools
Food and Drug Administration
This is an opportunity for broad public participation and comment concerning Internet promotion of FDA-regulated medical products, including human and animal prescription drugs and biologics and medical devices. Please note that this does not address nonprescription drug promotion. FDA is particularly interested in hearing views from the public as to how expanding Web 2.0 technologies may be used to promote medical products to both health care professionals and consumers in a truthful, nonmisleading, and balanced manner. In addition, FDA is seeking public comment on Internet adverse event reporting.
The agency invites commenton the general concept of Internet promotion, positive or negative; and on any aspect of Internet promotion that is of interest to the presenter. FDA is specifically interested in data and research on the use of social media tools in promotion, including data from companies on their own experiences, the extent to which health care professionals and consumers are using and are influenced by various social media tools, and the impact of Internet and social media promotion on the public health.
Submit comments online by February 28, 2010.
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