To authorize the National Institute of Standards and Technology to increase its efforts in support of the integration of the healthcare information enterprise in the United States.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Healthcare Information Technology 
Enterprise Integration Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
        because of the electronic commerce, information technology and 
        security expertise in its laboratories and the healthcare 
        component of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, and 
        its long history of working with the information technology and 
        healthcare industries, is well equipped to complement the 
        healthcare information technology implementation efforts as 
        established by Executive Order 13335 of April 27, 2004, by 
        addressing the technical challenges posed by healthcare 
        information enterprise integration.
            (2) Therefore, it is in the national interest for the 
        National Institute of Standards and Technology to accelerate 
        its efforts--
                    (A) to participate in the development of technical 
                standards, standards conformance tests, and enterprise 
                integration processes that are necessary to increase 
                efficiency and quality of care, and lower costs in the 
                healthcare industry; and
                    (B) ensuring that all components of the United 
                States healthcare infrastructure can be a part of an 
                electronic information network that is reliable, 
                interoperable, and secure.

SEC. 3. HEALTHCARE INFORMATION ENTERPRISE INTEGRATION INITIATIVE.

    (a) Establishment.--The Director of the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology shall establish an initiative for advancing 
healthcare information enterprise integration within the United States. 
In carrying out this section, the Director shall involve various units 
of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, including its 
laboratories and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program. This 
initiative shall build upon ongoing efforts of the National Institute 
of Standards and Technology, the private sector, and other Federal 
agencies, shall involve consortia that include government and industry, 
and shall be designed to permit healthcare information enterprise 
integration. These efforts shall complement ongoing activities 
occurring under Executive Order 13335 of April 27, 2004.
    (b) Technical Activities.--In order to carry out this section, the 
Director may focus on--
            (1) information technology standards and interoperability 
        analysis, which may include the development of technical 
        testbeds;
            (2) supporting the establishment of conformance testing 
        infrastructure, including software conformance and 
        certification;
            (3) security;
            (4) medical device communication;
            (5) supporting the provisioning of technical architecture 
        products for management and retrieval; and
            (6) information management including electronic health 
        records management, health information usability, and access 
        and decision support.
    (c) Other Activities.--The Director may assist healthcare 
representatives and organizations and Federal agencies in the 
development of technical roadmaps that identify the remaining steps 
needed to ensure that technical standards for application protocols, 
interoperability, data integrity, and security, as well as the 
corollary conformance test protocols, will be in place. These roadmaps 
shall rely upon voluntary consensus standards where possible consistent 
with Federal technology transfer laws.
    (d) Plans and Reports.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Director shall 
transmit a report to the Committee on Science and Technology of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate on the activities of the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology under this section.

SEC. 4. FEDERAL HEALTHCARE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS AND 
              INFRASTRUCTURE.

    (a) Guidelines and Standards.--Not later than 12 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Institute 
of Standards and Technology, in consultation with industry and 
appropriate Federal agencies, shall report on development of 
technology-neutral information technology infrastructure guidelines and 
standards, or the adoption of existing technology-neutral industry 
guidelines and private sector standards, for use by Federal agencies to 
enable those agencies to effectively select and utilize healthcare 
information technologies in a manner that is--
            (1) sufficiently secure to meet the needs of those agencies 
        (as is consistent with the Computer Security Act of 1987, as 
        amended, section 225 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, and 
        title III of the E-Government Act of 2002), their transaction 
        partners, and the general public;
            (2) interoperable, to the maximum extent possible; and
            (3) inclusive of ongoing Federal efforts that provide 
        technical expertise to harmonize existing standards and assist 
        in the development of interoperability specifications.
    (b) Elements.--The guidelines and standards developed under 
subsection (a) shall--
            (1) promote the use by Federal agencies of commercially 
        available products that incorporate the guidelines and 
        standards developed under subsection (a);
            (2) develop uniform testing procedures suitable for 
        determining the conformance of commercially available and 
        Federal healthcare information technology products with the 
        guidelines and standards;
            (3) support and promote the testing of electronic 
        healthcare information technologies utilized by Federal 
        agencies;
            (4) provide protection and security profiles;
            (5) establish a core set of interoperability specifications 
        in transactions between Federal agencies and their transaction 
        partners; and
            (6) include validation criteria to enable Federal agencies 
        to select healthcare information technologies appropriate to 
        their needs.
    (c) Reports.--Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Director shall transmit to 
the Congress a report that includes a description and analysis of--
            (1) the level of interoperability and security of 
        technologies for sharing healthcare information among Federal 
        agencies; and
            (2) the problems Federal agencies are having with, and the 
        progress such agencies are making toward, ensuring 
        interoperable and secure healthcare information systems and 
        electronic healthcare records.

SEC. 5. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.

    (a) Healthcare Information Enterprise Integration Research 
Centers.--
            (1) In general.--The Director of the National Institute of 
        Standards and Technology, in consultation the Director of the 
        National Science Foundation and other appropriate Federal 
        agencies, shall establish a program of assistance to 
        institutions of higher education (or consortia thereof which 
        may include nonprofit entities and Federal Government 
        laboratories) to establish multidisciplinary Centers for 
        Healthcare Information Enterprise Integration.
            (2) Review; competition.--Grants shall be awarded under 
        this subsection on a merit-reviewed, competitive basis.
            (3) Purpose.--The purposes of the Centers shall be--
                    (A) to generate innovative approaches to healthcare 
                information enterprise integration by conducting 
                cutting-edge, multidisciplinary research on the systems 
                challenges to healthcare delivery; and
                    (B) the development and use of information 
                technologies and other complementary fields.
            (4) Research areas.--Research areas may include--
                    (A) the interfaces between human information and 
                communications technology systems;
                    (B) voice-recognition systems;
                    (C) software that improves interoperability and 
                connectivity among systems;
                    (D) software dependability in systems critical to 
                healthcare delivery;
                    (E) measurement of the impact of information 
                technologies on the quality and productivity of 
                healthcare;
                    (F) healthcare information enterprise management; 
                and
                    (G) information technology security and integrity.
            (5) Applications.--An institution of higher education (or a 
        consortium thereof) seeking funding under this subsection shall 
        submit an application to the Director at such time, in such 
        manner, and containing such information as the Director may 
        require. The application shall include, at a minimum, a 
        description of--
                    (A) the research projects that will be undertaken 
                by the Center and the respective contributions of the 
                participating entities;
                    (B) how the Center will promote active 
                collaboration among scientists and engineers from 
                different disciplines, such as information technology, 
                biologic sciences, management, social sciences, and 
                other appropriate disciplines;
                    (C) technology transfer activities to demonstrate 
                and diffuse the research results, technologies, and 
                knowledge; and
                    (D) how the Center will contribute to the education 
                and training of researchers and other professionals in 
                fields relevant to healthcare information enterprise 
                integration.
    (b) National Information Technology Research and Development 
Program.--The National High-Performance Computing Program established 
by section 101 of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 
5511) shall coordinate Federal research and development programs 
related to the development and deployment of health information 
technology, including activities related to--
            (1) computer infrastructure;
            (2) data security;
            (3) development of large-scale, distributed, reliable 
        computing systems;
            (4) wired, wireless, and hybrid high-speed networking;
            (5) development of software and software-intensive systems;
            (6) human-computer interaction and information management 
        technologies; and
            (7) the social and economic implications of information 
        technology.
    (c) Strategic Plan for Healthcare Technologies and 
Classification.--
            (1) In general.--The Director of the National Institute of 
        Standards and Technology, in consultation with the Director of 
        the National Science Foundation, not later than 90 days after 
        the date of enactment of this Act, shall establish a task force 
        whose membership includes representatives of other Federal 
        agencies and industry groups (such as the American Health 
        Information Management Association and the American Medical 
        Informatics Association) to develop a strategic plan including 
        recommendations for--
                    (A) the development, adoption, and maintenance of 
                terminologies and classifications;
                    (B) gaining commitment of terminology and 
                classification stakeholders (such as developers, end 
                users, and other service and technology suppliers) to 
                principles and guidelines for open and transparent 
                processes to enable cost-effective interoperability and 
                complete and accurate information;
                    (C) the design of a centralized authority or 
                governance model, including principles for its 
                operation and funding scenarios;
                    (D) United States participation in the 
                International Health Terminology Standards Development 
                Organization; and
                    (E) any other issues identified by the task force.
            (2) Task force report.--The task force shall report its 
        findings and recommendations to the Committee on Science and 
        Technology of the House of Representatives not later than 18 
        months after the date of enactment of this Act. The task force 
        shall terminate after transmitting such report.
            (3) Federal advisory committee act.--The task force 
        established under this subsection shall not be subject to the 
        Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology for carrying out this 
Act $8,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 and 2010, to be 
derived from amounts authorized under section 3001 of Public Law 110-
69.
                                                 

Summary: Healthcare Information Technology Enterprise Integration Act - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to establish an initiative for advancing health care information enterprise integration within the United States. Authorizes the Director to focus on: (1) information technology standards and interoperability analysis, (2) supporting the establishment of conformance testing infrastructure, (3) security, (4) medical device communication. (5) supporting the provisioning of technical architecture products for management and retrieval. And (6) information management. Allows the Director to assist health care representatives and organizations and federal agencies in the development of technical roadmaps that identify the remaining steps needed to ensure that standards will be in place. Requires such roadmaps to rely upon voluntary consensus standards, where possible, consistent with federal technology transfer laws. Requires the Director to report on the development or adoption of technology-neutral information technology infrastructure guidelines and standards to enable federal agencies to effectively select and utilize health care information technologies in a manner that is: (1) sufficiently secure, (2) interoperable. And (3) inclusive of ongoing federal efforts that provide technical expertise to harmonize existing standards and assist in the development of interoperability specifications. Requires such guidelines and standards to: (1) promote the use by federal agencies of commercially available products, (2) develop uniform testing procedures suitable for determining product conformance. (3) support and promote the testing of electronic health care information technologies utilized by federal agencies, (4) provide protection and security profiles. (5) establish a core set of interoperability specifications in federal agency transactions. And (6) include validation criteria to enable federal agencies to select appropriate health care information technologies. Requires the Director to report on: (1) the level of interoperability and security of technologies for sharing health care information among federal agencies. And (2) federal agency problems and progress in ensuring interoperable and secure health care information systems and electronic health care records. Requires the Director to establish a program of assistance to institutions of higher education to establish multidisciplinary Centers for Healthcare Information Enterprise Integration in order to: (1) generate innovative approaches to health care information enterprise integration. And (2) develop and use information technologies and other complementary fields. Directs the National High-Performance Computing Program to coordinate federal research and development programs related to the development and deployment of health information technology. Requires the Director to establish a task force to develop a strategic plan, including recommendations for: (1) the development, adoption, and maintenance of terminologies and classifications. (2) gaining commitment of terminology and classification stakeholders to principles and guidelines for an open and transparent process to enable cost-effective interoperability and complete and accurate information, (3) the design of a centralized authority or governance model. And (4) US participation in the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organization. Authorizes Appropriations for FY2009-FY2010.