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Issued by

National Library of Medicine (NLM)

Purpose

This Request for Information is to solicit public input on future resource and program directions for the National Library of Medicine (NLM) support of information related to health services research, practice guidelines and health technology, including technology assessment.

Background:

NLM is the world’s largest biomedical library, established to “assist with the advancement of medical and related sciences and to aid in the dissemination and exchange of scientific and other information important to the progress of medicine and the public health.”

Since the early 1990s and the establishment of the National Information Center for Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR), NLM has taken steps to ensure that its general activities and its core collections of journals, journal articles, books and manuscripts reflect the current state of health services research (HSR), including practice guidelines and health technology and technology assessment. Additionally, NLM has developed specialized products targeted toward the HSR community. These resources were designed to address challenges in accessing certain information understood to be needed by the health services research community: the academicians, clinicians and other health professionals engaged in conducting, disseminating, or implementing health services research, including the public health workforce.

Information Requested

NLM seeks input from all participants and disciplines of the health services research community, regardless of previous engagement with our products.

We invite your comments in the following areas:

1. Products that NLM currently offers in the areas of health services delivery or health services research.
2. Information types necessary for your organization to successfully support health services research or public health.
3. Tools, resources, or health services literature that are the most critical for NLM to collect or support.
4. Any other comments that would enable NLM to support future work related to the delivery of health services, or health services research.

How to Submit a Response

To respond to this RFI, please go to the submission survey [link]. To ensure consideration, responses must be submitted by November 6, 2020. We do not require you to provide your name with the response. Responses are voluntary and may be submitted anonymously.

This RFI is for planning purposes only and should not be construed as a solicitation or an obligation on the part of the Federal Government, the National Institutes of Health, or individual NIH Institutes or Centers. The NIH does not intend to make any type of award based on responses to this RFI or to pay for either the preparation of information submitted or the Government’s use of such information.

NLM will use the information submitted in response to this RFI at its discretion and will not provide comments to any responder's submission. However, responses to the RFI may be reflected in future funding opportunity announcements. The information provided will be analyzed and may be shared publicly or appear in reports. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Doug Joubert
National Library of Medicine
Email: douglas.joubert@nih.gov