415 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish within the Agency of Healthcare Research and 
Quality a Center for Comparative Effectiveness Re-
search (in this section referred to as the ‘Center’) to 
conduct, support, and synthesize research (including 
research conducted or supported under section 1013 
of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, 
and Modernization Act of 2003) with respect to the 
outcomes, effectiveness, and appropriateness of 
health care services and procedures in order to iden-
tify the manner in which diseases, disorders, and 
other health conditions can most effectively and ap-
propriately be prevented, diagnosed, treated, and 
managed clinically. 
‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Center shall— 
‘‘(A) conduct, support, and synthesize re-
search relevant to the comparative clinical effec-
tiveness of the full spectrum of health care 
treatments, including pharmaceuticals, medical 
devices, medical and surgical procedures, and 
other medical interventions; 
‘‘(B) conduct and support systematic re-
views of clinical research, including original re-
search conducted subsequent to the date of the 
enactment of this section; 
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416 
‘‘(C) use methodologies such as random-
ized controlled clinical trials as well as other 
various types of clinical research, such as obser-
vational studies; 
‘‘(D) submit to the Comparative Effective-
ness Research Commission, the Secretary, and 
Congress appropriate relevant reports described 
in subsection (d)(2); 
‘‘(E) encourage, as appropriate, the devel-
opment and use of clinical registries and the de-
velopment of clinical effectiveness research data 
networks from electronic health records, post 
marketing drug and medical device surveillance 
efforts, and other forms of electronic health 
data; and 
‘‘(F) not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this section, develop 
methodological standards to be used when con-
ducting studies of comparative clinical effective-
ness and value (and procedures for use of such 
standards) in order to help ensure accurate and 
effective comparisons and update such stand-
ards at least biennially. 
‘‘(b) OVERSIGHT BY COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS 
RESEARCH COMMISSION.— 
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417 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish an independent Comparative Effectiveness Re-
search Commission (in this section referred to as the 
‘Commission’) to oversee and evaluate the activities 
carried out by the Center under subsection (a) to en-
sure such activities result in highly credible research 
and information resulting from such research. 
‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Commission shall— 
‘‘(A) determine national priorities for re-
search described in subsection (a) and in mak-
ing such determinations consult with patients 
and health care providers and payers; 
‘‘(B) monitor the appropriateness of use of 
the CERTF described in subsection (f) with re-
spect to the timely production of comparative 
effectiveness research determined to be a na-
tional priority under subparagraph (A); 
‘‘(C) identify highly credible research 
methods and standards of evidence for such re-
search to be considered by the Center; 
‘‘(D) review and approve the methodo-
logical standards (and updates to such stand-
ards) developed by the Center under subsection 
(a)(2)(F); 
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‘‘(E) enter into an arrangement under 
which the Institute of Medicine of the National 
Academy of Sciences shall conduct an evalua-
tion and report on standards of evidence for 
such research; 
‘‘(F) support forums to increase stake-
holder awareness and permit stakeholder feed-
back on the efforts of the Agency of Healthcare 
Research and Quality to advance methods and 
standards that promote highly credible re-
search; 
‘‘(G) make recommendations for public 
data access policies of the Center that would 
allow for access of such data by the public while 
ensuring the information produced from re-
search involved is timely and credible; 
‘‘(H) appoint a clinical perspective advisory 
panel for each research priority determined 
under subparagraph (A), which shall frame the 
specific research inquiry to be examined with 
respect to such priority to ensure that the infor-
mation produced from such research is clinically 
relevant to decisions made by clinicians and pa-
tients at the point of care; 
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