June 5 -- The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how organizations, networks, non-federal government agencies, and other relevant stakeholders in the United States have operationally defined “resilience” in their respective components of the health system; including their use of data, analytic approaches and proven indicators. OASH also seeks to identify opportunities to strengthen the U.S. healthcare system, as a whole, through public-private partnerships in data sharing and comprehensive analytics. OASH welcomes any public feedback related to how these questions should be addressed and/or potential solutions. Comments should be received by July 8, 2020.
The Request for Information (RFI) is at:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/06/05/2020-12238/request-for-information-long-term-monitoring-of-health-care-system-resilience
On January 31st, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared a public health emergency due to the outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, now known as COVID-19. To date, the federal government has engaged in intensive efforts to prevent and mitigate the transmission of COVID-19 within the United States. These efforts required unprecedented changes in the functioning of private businesses, personal lives, the provision of public services and healthcare. Early interventions focused primarily on the redirection of the provision of healthcare resources towards individuals with COVID-19 and mitigation strategies to prevent the spread of the virus, including markedly diminished access to health system services.
Anecdotal reports and experiences from the frontlines, and emerging data, indicate that the COVID-19 response has consequentially resulted in limited access to routine and emergency healthcare services in many, if not most, communities. In regions with significant burdens of COVID-19 cases, local health systems have faced challenges with surge capacity needed to treat COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, mitigation strategies to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 have altered the delivery of healthcare services across the board, with many organizations shifting to providing care via telehealth, reducing the scale or scope of their healthcare services or eliminating access, altogether. Also, human behaviors around accessing healthcare have been altered in the midst of recommendations for social isolation/distancing.
Response to a health crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitates a robust public health response and a highly resilient, adaptable health care delivery system that can meet the evolving needs of communities. Although there is not a common definition of “health system resilience” (encompassing the provision of direct clinical care, preventive medicine and public health activities), the most referenced definition defines it as “the capacity of health actors, institutions, and populations to prepare for and effectively respond to crises; maintain core functions when a crisis hits; and, informed by lessons learned during the crisis, reorganize if conditions require it.” Maintaining health system resilience, particularly during and following the COVID-19, is a critical concern in order to ensure the delivery of high-quality care, from prevention to high-acuity inpatient care, for all conditions.
The purpose of this RFI is to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how organizations, networks, non-federal government agencies, and other relevant stakeholders in the United States have operationally defined “resilience” in their respective components of the health system; including their use of data, analytic approaches and proven indicators. These indicators and data sets should be able to quantify the impact of disturbances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, on health care availability, access, timeliness, and quality.
The RFI also seeks to identify opportunities to strengthen the U.S. healthcare system, as a whole, through public-private partnerships in data sharing and comprehensive analytics. The RFI seeks to identify organizations that would be interested in discussing the form and function of such collaborations.
The definition of “health” system or services and/or “healthcare” system or services, for the purposes of this RFI, is in the broadest sense. We seek to understand resilience implications on the provision of health services in all dimensions.
The RFI asks 11 questions across four topics:
Barrier and Opportunities for Health System Resilience (3 questions)
Key Indicators & Data Sources of Health System Resilience (4 questions)
Public/Private Data Sources (2 questions)
Public/Private Partnerships (2 questions)
