Sept 24 -- The Office of Inspector General (OIG), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), seeks input from the public by January 31, 2022 on OIG resources and how OIG could enhance the usefulness and timeliness of such resources and improve their accessibility and usability.
The HHS OIG is working to modernize the accessibility and usability of our publicly available resources, including guidance, program integrity resources, publicly available data, and advisory opinions (collectively, resources). Given the significant passage of time since many of our resources launched and corresponding advancements in technology, we are looking holistically at where we can make improvements to delivering publicly available resources effectively and efficiently. We want to continue producing useful and timely resources that, among other things, advance the health care industry's voluntary compliance and help prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. Further, we are mindful that stakeholders increasingly use new technologies to ingest, manage, and operationalize data and information, and we are interested in delivering data and information in ways that are compatible with the technologies used by stakeholders. To modernize our publicly available resources, we anticipate a multistep, multiyear process that prioritizes high-value changes. Input collected from this RFI will help inform decisions about which areas to address first. By tailoring our resources in response to stakeholder input, and making it easier to use OIG's resources, we hope to spur improved compliance and innovative approaches within the health care industry.
Through this Request for Information (RFI), OIG seeks input from the health care industry and the public, including:
Health care providers and suppliers, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, compliance professionals, attorneys, boards of directors, payors, health technology companies and professionals, companies and individuals providing health care-related services (such as social services or case management), industry associations, and health care compliance software vendors;
State officials who administer or oversee Medicaid and other State health care programs;
Tribal officials and providers and suppliers serving American Indian and Alaska Native communities;
health care consumers and their advocates; and
health care researchers and policy analysts.
While our focus is generally on resources related to health care, we also offer resources related to HHS's human services programs, including programs administered through grants and contracts, and would welcome input from stakeholders about resources related to those programs.
We want to know whether and how you currently use the OIG resources listed below, and how we could enhance the value and timeliness of such resources and improve their accessibility and usability. We also are interested in input on additional types of OIG resources that would be useful, or additional subject areas for OIG resources. Specifically, we seek feedback on:
advisory opinions;
fraud alerts (including special fraud alerts);
special advisory bulletins;
compliance program guidance;
frequently asked questions (FAQs), including COVID-19 FAQs;
other compliance guidance and resources;
corporate integrity agreements (CIAs);
the list of excluded individuals/entities (LEIE); and
audits and evaluations.
This RFI is an opportunity for a range of stakeholders to suggest ways to improve the usefulness, timeliness, accessibility, and usability of OIG's resources by: (i) Providing insights into how they use OIG resources, (ii) identifying the successes and challenges organizations have had using OIG resources, and (iii) identifying other potential opportunities for OIG to provide information to the public and other stakeholders. We recognize that many of the issues raised by this RFI may cross different professional disciplines or functions, and we encourage respondents to incorporate a broad perspective, as applicable.
Through this RFI, we intend to elicit a more complete and nuanced understanding of how OIG resources are used by different stakeholders and how we may best improve upon them and their accessibility. We hope that respondents provide candid feedback, including examples of challenges related to any category of OIG resource listed in this RFI, as well as new opportunities for OIG to provide information and data more effectively. Feedback that we receive will inform OIG's consideration and prioritization of potential updates to existing resources, modifications of processes for developing resources, changes in how data and information are provided to the public, and development of new materials or data sets, as appropriate.
FR notice inviting public comments:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/09/24/2021-20558/oig-modernization-initiative-to-improve-its-publicly-available-resources-request-for-information