Topics on this page: Cross-Agency Priority Goals | Strategic Goals Overview| Management Objectives and Priorities | Performance Management | HHS Priority Goals | HHS Priority Goals Progress Summary FY 2014 – FY 2015
Cross-Agency Priority Goals
Per the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act (GPRAMA) requirement to address Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) Goals in the agency strategic plan, the annual performance plan, and the annual performance report, please refer to www.Performance.gov for the agency’s contributions to those goals and progress, where applicable. The Department of Health and Human Services currently contributes to the following CAP Goals: Customer Service, Benchmarking, Open Data, Lab-to-Market, and People and Culture.
Strategic Goals Overview
HHS developed a new strategic plan in 2013 to encompass the period from FY 2014 to 2018. This plan, available at http://www.hhs.gov/strategic-plan/priorities.html, identifies four strategic goals and 21 related objectives. The four strategic goals are:
Goal 1: Strengthen Health Care
Goal 2: Advance Scientific Knowledge and Innovation
Goal 3: Advance the Health, Safety, and Well-being of the American People
Goal 4: Ensure Efficiency, Transparency, Accountability, and Effectiveness of HHS Programs
Management Objectives and Priorities
The structure of the FY 2014-2018 HHS Strategic Plan aligns Strategic Goals 1 through 3 to mission-focused efforts while Strategic Goal 4 aligns to HHS’s overall management objectives. The emphasis on efficiency, transparency, accountability, and effectiveness of HHS programs in Goal 4 serves to highlight efforts across the Department to enable enhanced program performance in strengthening program integrity, creating innovations for data access and use, investing in the HHS workforce, and promoting sustainability. The planned actions, performance targets, and indicators used to measure progress for these can be found in the Goal 4 section of the Annual Performance Plan in this document.
Performance Management
Performance goals and measurement are powerful tools to advance an effective, efficient, and productive government. HHS regularly collects and analyzes performance data to inform decisions. HHS staff constantly strive to achieve meaningful progress and find lower-cost ways to achieve positive impacts, in addition to sustaining and spreading information on effective and efficient government programs.
Responding to opportunities afforded by GPRAMA, HHS continues to institute significant improvements in performance management since FY 2011 including:
- Developing, analyzing, reporting, and managing five Priority Goals for the period of FY 2014-2015 and conducting quarterly performance reviews between HHS component staff and HHS leadership to monitor progress toward achieving key performance objectives.
- Coordinating initial Strategic Reviews process supporting decision-making and performance improvement across the Department.
- Enhancing the coordination of performance measurement, budgeting, strategic planning, and program integrity activities within the Department.
- Continuing to foster a network of component Performance Officers who support, coordinate, and implement performance management efforts across HHS.
- Sharing of best practices in performance management at HHS through webinars and other media.
HHS Priority Goals
HHS, along with other federal agencies, uses Priority Goals to improve performance and accountability. HHS established a set of near-term (18 – 24 month) Priority Goals aligned to an HHS Strategic Plan Goal and began holding quarterly data-driven reviews to monitor progress towards these Priority Goals in FY 2014. The Department developed these Priority Goals by collaborating across the Department to identify those activities that would reflect HHS priorities and benefit from the focus and communication of the Priority Goal process. Some of these Goals are continuations from FY 2012-2013, reflecting their continued importance across the Department. These Priority Goals are largely cross-cutting in nature, requiring active management across HHS components for success. Priority Goals are included in the Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan with targets displayed until at least FY 2015. HHS will actively monitor progress and work towards the achievement of these goals through quarterly data-driven reviews and other mechanisms. Please refer to www.Performance.gov for additional information on Priority Goals and the HHS components’ contributions to those goals.
HHS Priority Goals Progress Summary FY 2014 – FY 2015
Improve health care through meaningful use of health information technology: By the end of FY 2015, increase the number of eligible providers who receive incentive payments from the CMS Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs for the successful adoption or demonstration of meaningful use of certified EHR technology to 450,000.
Results Reported: As of September 2014 progress on stage 2 of this program showed more than 414,914 providers had received their first incentive payment or 83 percent of all registered providers. 74 percent of all eligible professionals and 94 percent of all eligible hospitals have received at least one incentive payment. As of October 2014, over 90 percent of attested providers were using an EHR vendor that had a 2014 certified EHR product available. This means, that while the provider may not have a 2014 certified EHR product/version currently installed, the vendor of their primary EHR does provide a 2014 certified EHR product option. Recognizing that many providers and vendors are facing difficulty transitioning to 2014 certified EHRs, CMS and ONC recently finalized the Flexibility Rule, which allows providers more flexibility in attestation options during 2014. While not all providers are eligible for the flexibility, those that are may defer progress to stage 2 requirements until after the end of FY 2015.
Reduce foodborne illness in the population: By December 31, 2015, decrease the rate of Salmonella Enteritidis illness in the population from 2.6 cases per 100,000 (2007-2009 baseline) to 1.9 cases per 100,000.
Results Reported: CDC reported that the illness rate during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2014 was 2.8 illnesses per 100,000. This is a decrease from the 2010 rate (3.5 cases per 100,000) but is slightly higher than the 2007-2009 baseline rate of 2.6 cases per 100,000 population. In support of this reduction, as of September 30, 2014 FDA has conducted a total of 255 inspections or investigations of small and large registered egg producers, 168 and 87 respectively. Also, as of October 31, 2014, 9 of the 10 FoodNet sites were transmitting exposure information to CDC. Exploratory analyses of the 579 infections with exposure information are ongoing. CDC is evaluating this data to determine its usefulness in CDC’s “exposure” model to estimate the proportion of total SE illnesses (foodborne, non-foodborne, and international travel-associated) attributable to shell eggs during 2014-2015.
Reduce combustible tobacco use: By December 31, 2015, reduce the annual adult combustible tobacco consumption in the United States from 1,342 cigarette equivalents per capita to 1,174 cigarette equivalents per capita, which will represent an approximate 12 percent decrease from the 2012 baseline.
Results Reported: Preliminary results show that OASH, FDA, NIH, and CDC face initial challenges on progress together toward this goal, reporting a rate of 1,277 cigarette equivalents per capita in FY 2013. This result does not quite meet the target, reflecting the many obstacles in place to effecting tangible change on smoking behavior. Supporting efforts around education about health effects, retail compliance and facility inspections, and cessation and prevention have all shown recent success, indicating that per capita smoking rates have the potential to decline.
Improve patient safety: To reduce the national rate of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) by September 30, 2015 by demonstrating a 10 percent reduction in national hospital-acquired catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) from the current standardized infection ration (SIR) of 1.03 to a target SIR of 0.92.
Results Reported: CMS, CDC, AHRQ and OASH collaborated to coordinate programs across HHS, in addition to working closely with public and private partners, towards the goal to reduce the HAI CAUTI. The anticipated reduction of the CAUTI SIR by 20 percent has not yet been reached, and recent data trends from FY 2013 show an increase in CAUTI SIR by 12 percent. This represents an improvement over the prior year. HHS partners will continue to use a combination of programmatic levers and evidence-based infection control interventions in order to show substantial future reductions in CAUTI.
Improve the quality of early childhood education: By September 30, 2015, improve the quality of early childhood programs for low-income children through implementation of the Quality Rating and Improvement Systems in the Child Care and Development Fund, and through implementation of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS: Pre-K) in Head Start.
Results Reported: ACF continues to be on track to meet the key indicators associated with this Priority Goal, as we continue to make progress to improve the quality of Early Childhood Education programs. An analysis of CLASS: Pre-K scores for the most recent cohort of 404 Head Start grantees that received on-site monitoring in the 2013-2014 Head Start “school year” indicates that 23 percent of grantees scored in the low range, thus exceeding the target of 27 percent. All grantees scoring in the low range (below 2.5) in FY 2014 did so for the Instructional Support domain. ACF has also completed all implementation milestones in this goal in FY 2014.
