NIH Announces New Initiative to Transform Clinical and Translational Science
In October 2005, NIH Director Elias Zerhouni announced a new program, the institutional Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs). A planning grant (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-06-001.html) as well as a full application RFA have been published (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-06-002.html). The stated purpose of this initiative is "to assist institutions to forge a uniquely transformative, novel, and integrative academic home for Clinical and Translational Science that has the consolidated resources to: 1) captivate, advance, and nurture a cadre of well-trained multi- and inter-disciplinary investigators and research teams; 2) create an incubator for innovative research tools and information technologies; and 3) synergize multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary clinical and translational research and researchers to catalyze the application of new knowledge and techniques to clinical practice at the front lines of patient care."
This award is quite unique and will eventually replace the current NIH General Clinical Research Center awards (GCRCs) as well as current NIH Roadmap K12 and T32 awards. Applicants will submit a single comprehensive U54 Cooperative Agreement application that includes linked K12 and T32 components. Awards will vary in size due to the consolidation of multiple programs within the CTSA program. Applicants will be able to request total costs up to $6 million annually for five years in addition to the combined current total costs of certain NIH awards (NCRR K12, K30, M01, and Roadmap T32 and K12).
As Dr. Zerhouni states, "This program will give research institutions more freedom to foster productive collaboration among experts in different fields, lower barriers between disciplines, and encourage creative, new approaches that will help us solve complex medical mysteries."
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News Headlines from Washington
Bush Administration to Release FY 2007 Budget Proposal
President George W. Bush will release his fiscal year (FY) 2007 federal budget proposal on Monday, February 6. Medical research advocates anticipate that the Bush Administration will offer the National Institutes of Health (NIH) only a small increase, probably in the range of 1-2 percent. In this time of tremendous health challenges and unparalleled scientific opportunity, NIH advocates will again have their work cut out for them as they appeal to the House and Senate for FY 2007 funding.
On February 6, look to ASH for up-to-date information on the President's FY 2007 Federal Budget Proposal and its impact on NIH at www.hematology.org/policy/news.
CMS Announces Voluntary Reporting Program
Late last year the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a voluntary quality reporting initiative for physicians that could pave the way for legislation that would eventually tie payment to quality reporting. Beginning January 2006, CMS implemented 36 quality measures. As part of the first phase, CMS will begin to collect the information through the use of a dedicated set of Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes, called G-codes, which will supplement the claims data physicians currently submit to CMS with clinical data. This data will then be used to measure the quality of services provided to Medicare patients. CMS anticipates that these G-codes will serve as an interim step until the electronic submission of data through electronic health records replaces this process. No financial incentives are provided for physician participation. The new program is controversial. The American Medical Association has called on CMS to rescind the project, noting that the physician community has made a good faith effort to develop, endorse, and implement physician performance measures but that "CMS has bypassed a significant body of collaborative work in favor of its own reporting program." It also questioned whether physicians had the practice management and electronic medical record systems to facilitate participation in this initiative.
CMS created a Web page on the new voluntary reporting initiative at www.cms.hhs.gov/PhysicianFocusedQualInits/. For a list of the 36 measures, visit www.cms.hhs.gov/PhysicianFocusedQualInits/Downloads/PFQIPVRP_Starter_Set_Information.pdf.
NIH Announces 2006 Pioneer Award Program
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced the opening of the 2006 NIH Director's Pioneer Award program, a key component of the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. Unlike other NIH grants that support research projects, the Pioneer Award supports individual scientists. The award gives recipients the intellectual freedom to pursue new research directions and highly innovative ideas that have the potential for unusually great impact.
The program is open to scientists at all career levels who may currently be engaged in any field of research, provided they are interested in exploring biomedically relevant topics and willing to commit the major portion of their efforts to Pioneer Award research. Awardees must be U.S. citizens, non-citizen nationals, or permanent residents. In September 2006, NIH expects to award five to 10 new Pioneer Awards of up to $2.5 million in direct costs over a five-year period. The complete Pioneer Award request for applications is available at http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-06-005.html.
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