News Briefs: Week of March 7-11

This roundup includes the following news briefs:

CMS is seeking nominations for individuals to serve on its Advisory Panel on Outreach and Education, or APOE, which advises HHS and CMS on developing and implementing programs to support and educate beneficiaries about their options under Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

The advisory council, which consists of 20 members, meets four times a year. CMS is looking to fill 12 vacant slots. APOE members serve two-year terms and must be knowledgeable in one or more of the following fields: senior citizen advocacy, outreach to minority communities, health communications, disease-related advocacy, disability policy and access, health economics research, health insurers and plans, health information technology, direct patient care, and labor and retirement issues. Applications are due no later than April 4.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, or AHRQ, has released the eighth editions of the National Healthcare Quality (205-page PDF; About PDFs) and the National Healthcare Disparities (248-page PDF; About PDFs) reports, which show that disparities related to race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status still exist across eight national health priorities.

According to the reports, quality is improving in palliative and end-of-life care, as well as in patient and family engagement, but it is lagging in population health, safety and access. More data are needed to assess care coordination, overuse and health system infrastructure, said AHRQ.

NIH, has scheduled its first NIH mHealth Summer Institute on mobile and wireless technologies for June 20-24 in San Diego.

According to the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, the weeklong program will bring together leaders in mobile and wireless health technologies, behavioral science researchers, federal health officials and medical community members, who will provide early career investigators with an opportunity to learn about mHealth research. Participants will explore intersections in these fields to learn how mHealth technologies can improve patient care and enhance medical research.

But don't delay: The deadline to register for the program is March 10.