2002.02.05:HHS Creates Council to Review, Respond to Private Sector Innovation

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2002

Contact:

AHRQ Press Office
(301) 594-1364

HHS CREATES COUNCIL TO REVIEW, RESPOND TO
PRIVATE SECTOR INNOVATION

To better consider the best ideas from the private sector now coming into the Department of Health and Human Services, HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today has set up a new forum to receive these ideas and to triage them effectively to the appropriate federal agencies. This forum, the Council on Private Sector Initiatives to Improve Security, Safety, and Quality of Health Care, will review and refer appropriately requests from private-sector companies that want to present innovative ideas and products to the federal government.

The council's goal is to make certain that requests from the private sector are managed in a fair, systematic and consistent manner. These requests range from large companies to small entrepreneurs who have developed products that will help enhance the security, safety and quality of the nation's health care system - including bioterrorism preparedness. Review and referral to the appropriate agency or agencies by the council will reduce the time and frustration that companies may face in determining who in government should review their ideas.

"The council will help ensure that the nation's efforts to improve public health preparedness and the delivery of heath care services are enhanced by innovation and creativity from the private sector," Secretary Thompson said. "This council will also enhance our responsiveness by providing the private sector with a single point of contact at the department."

The council's membership consists of the heads, or their designees, of agencies within HHS, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Assistant Secretary for Health, the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation and the director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness. The council also includes heads or designees from the departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs and Energy, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure appropriate coordination across other relevant departments. AHRQ Director John M. Eisenberg, M.D., chairs the council.

The council held its first meeting Jan. 23, and has already started work. Since its formation, the council's staff has reviewed requests from 18 companies. Member agencies already have met with three companies, and the remaining requests are being reviewed.

The council has established a Web site -- www.cpsi.ahrq.gov -- that will give companies instructions on how to submit a request as well as provide access to the contact persons within the Council who can provide further information.

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at www.hhs.gov/news.

HHS CREATES COUNCIL TO REVIEW, RESPOND TO PRIVATE SECTOR INNOVATION

HHS CREATES COUNCIL TO REVIEW, RESPOND TO
PRIVATE SECTOR INNOVATION