‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may 
not make a grant under paragraph (1) to a 
State unless the State agrees to make available 
(directly or through donations from public or 
private entities) non-Federal contributions in 
cash toward the costs of the State program to 
be implemented under the grant in an amount 
equal to not less than $1 for each $1 of Federal 
funds provided under the grant. 
‘‘(B) DETERMINATION
OF
AMOUNT
OF 
NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION.—In determining 
the amount of non-Federal contributions that a 
State has provided pursuant to subparagraph 
(A), the Secretary may not include any 
amounts provided to the State by the Federal 
Government. 
‘‘(9) PREFERENCE
IN
AWARDING
GRANTS.— 
The Secretary may give preference in awarding 
grants under this subsection to States that adopt 
value-based purchasing programs to improve health 
care quality. 
‘‘(10) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall annually 
submit to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Finance 
of the Senate, and the Committee on Energy and 
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Commerce and the Committee on Ways and Means 
of the House of Representatives, a report summa-
rizing the reports received by the Secretary from 
each State that receives a grant under this sub-
section. 
‘‘(c) COMPETITIVE GRANTS FOR THE IMPLEMENTA-
TION OF REGIONAL OR LOCAL HEALTH INFORMATION 
TECHNOLOGY PLANS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award 
competitive grants to eligible entities to implement 
regional or local health information plans to improve 
health care quality and efficiency through the elec-
tronic exchange of health information pursuant to 
the standards, implementation specifications and 
certification criteria, and other requirements adopted 
by the Secretary under section 3011. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under paragraph (1) an entity shall— 
‘‘(A) demonstrate financial need to the 
Secretary; 
‘‘(B) demonstrate that one of its principal 
missions or purposes is to use information tech-
nology to improve health care quality and effi-
ciency; 
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‘‘(C) adopt bylaws, memoranda of under-
standing, or other charter documents that dem-
onstrate that the governance structure and de-
cisionmaking processes of such entity allow for 
participation on an ongoing basis by multiple 
stakeholders within a community, including— 
‘‘(i) health care providers (including 
health care providers that provide services 
to low income and underserved popu-
lations); 
‘‘(ii) pharmacists or pharmacies; 
‘‘(iii) health plans; 
‘‘(iv) health centers (as defined in sec-
tion 330(b)) and federally qualified health 
centers (as defined in section 1861(aa)(4) 
of the Social Security Act) and rural 
health clinics (as defined in section 
1861(aa) of the Social Security Act), if 
such centers or clinics are present in the 
community served by the entity; 
‘‘(v) patient or consumer organiza-
tions; 
‘‘(vi) organizations dedicated to im-
proving the health of vulnerable popu-
lations; 
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‘‘(vii) employers; 
‘‘(viii) State or local health depart-
ments; and 
‘‘(ix) any other health care providers 
or other entities, as determined appro-
priate by the Secretary; 
‘‘(D) demonstrate the participation, to the 
extent practicable, of stakeholders in the elec-
tronic exchange of health information within 
the local or regional plan pursuant to subpara-
graph (C); 
‘‘(E) adopt nondiscrimination and conflict 
of interest policies that demonstrate a commit-
ment to open, fair, and nondiscriminatory par-
ticipation in the health information plan by all 
stakeholders; 
‘‘(F) adopt the standards adopted by the 
Secretary under section 3003; 
‘‘(G) require that health care providers re-
ceiving such grants— 
‘‘(i) implement the measures adopted 
under section 3011 and report to the Sec-
retary on such measures; and 
‘‘(ii) take into account the input of 
employees and staff who are directly in-
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volved in patient care of such health care 
providers in the design, implementation, 
and use of health information technology 
systems; 
‘‘(H) agree to notify individuals if their in-
dividually identifiable health information is 
wrongfully disclosed; 
‘‘(I) facilitate the electronic exchange of 
health information within the local or regional 
area and among local and regional areas; 
‘‘(J) prepare and submit to the Secretary 
an application in accordance with paragraph 
(3); 
‘‘(K) agree to provide matching funds in 
accordance with paragraph (5); and 
‘‘(L) reduce barriers to the implementation 
of health information technology by providers.. 
‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re-
ceive a grant under paragraph (1), an entity 
shall submit to the Secretary an application at 
such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require. 
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‘‘(B) 
REQUIRED
INFORMATION.—At 
a 
minimum, an application submitted under this 
paragraph shall include— 
‘‘(i) clearly identified short-term and 
long-term objectives of the regional or local 
health information plan; 
‘‘(ii) a technology plan that complies 
with the standards, implementation speci-
fications, and certification criteria adopted 
under section 3003(c)(7) and that includes 
a descriptive and reasoned estimate of the 
costs of the hardware, software, training, 
and consulting services necessary to imple-
ment the regional or local health informa-
tion plan; 
‘‘(iii) a strategy that includes initia-
tives to improve health care quality and ef-
ficiency, including the use and reporting of 
health care quality measures adopted 
under section 3011; 
‘‘(iv) a plan that describes provisions 
to encourage the implementation of the 
electronic exchange of health information 
by all health care providers participating in 
the health information plan; 
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‘‘(ix) in the case of an applicant entity 
that is unable to demonstrate the partici-
pation of all stakeholders pursuant to 
paragraph (2)(C), the justification from 
the entity for any such nonparticipation. 
‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts received under 
a grant under paragraph (1) shall be used to estab-
lish and implement a regional or local health infor-
mation plan in accordance with this subsection. 
‘‘(5) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may 
not make a grant under this subsection to an 
entity unless the entity agrees that, with re-
spect to the costs to be incurred by the entity 
in carrying out the infrastructure program for 
which the grant was awarded, the entity will 
make available (directly or through donations 
from public or private entities) non-Federal 
contributions toward such costs in an amount 
equal to not less than 50 percent of such costs 
($1 for each $2 of Federal funds provided 
under the grant). 
‘‘(B) DETERMINATION
OF
AMOUNT
CON-
TRIBUTED.—Non-Federal 
contributions 
re-
quired under subparagraph (A) may be in cash 
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or in kind, fairly evaluated, including equip-
ment, technology, or services. Amounts provided 
by the Federal Government, or services assisted 
or subsidized to any significant extent by the 
Federal Government, may not be included in 
determining the amount of such non-Federal 
contributions. 
‘‘(d) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
on which the first grant is awarded under this section, 
and annually thereafter during the grant period, an entity 
that receives a grant under this section shall submit to 
the Secretary a report on the activities carried out under 
the grant involved. Each such report shall include— 
‘‘(1) a description of the financial costs and 
benefits of the project involved and of the entities to 
which such costs and benefits accrue; 
‘‘(2) an analysis of the impact of the project on 
health care quality and safety; 
‘‘(3) a description of any reduction in duplica-
tive or unnecessary care as a result of the project in-
volved; and 
‘‘(4) other information as required by the Sec-
retary. 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
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‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—For the purpose of car-
rying out this section, there are authorized to be ap-
propriated $163,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, 
$163,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, and such sums 
as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2010 
through 2012. 
‘‘(2) 
AVAILABILITY.—Amounts 
appropriated 
pursuant to paragraph (1) shall remain available 
through fiscal year 2012. 
‘‘SEC. 3009. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM TO INTEGRATE IN-
FORMATION TECHNOLOGY INTO CLINICAL 
EDUCATION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award grants 
to eligible entities or consortia under this section to carry 
out demonstration projects to develop academic curricula 
integrating qualified health information technology sys-
tems in the clinical education of health professionals or 
analyze clinical data sets to discover quality measures. 
Such awards shall be made on a competitive basis and 
pursuant to peer review. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under subsection (a), an entity or consortium shall— 
‘‘(1) submit to the Secretary an application at 
such time, in such manner, and containing such in-
formation as the Secretary may require; 
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‘‘(2) be or include— 
‘‘(A) a health professions school; 
‘‘(B) a school of nursing; or 
‘‘(C) an institution with a graduate med-
ical education program; 
‘‘(3) provide for the collection of data regarding 
the effectiveness of the demonstration project to be 
funded under the grant in improving the safety of 
patients and the efficiency of health care delivery; 
and 
‘‘(4) provide matching funds in accordance with 
subsection (d). 
‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a grant 
under subsection (a), an eligible entity or consortium 
shall use amounts received under the grant in col-
laboration with 2 or more disciplines. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—An eligible entity or consor-
tium shall not award a grant under subsection (a) 
to purchase hardware, software, or services. 
‘‘(d) MATCHING FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award 
a grant to an entity or consortium under this section 
only if the entity of consortium agrees to make avail-
able non-Federal contributions toward the costs of 
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the program to be funded under the grant in an 
amount that is not less than $1 for each $2 of Fed-
eral funds provided under the grant. 
‘‘(2) DETERMINATION
OF
AMOUNT
CONTRIB-
UTED.—Non-Federal contributions under paragraph 
(1) may be in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, in-
cluding equipment or services. Amounts provided by 
the Federal Government, or services assisted or sub-
sidized to any significant extent by the Federal Gov-
ernment, may not be included in determining the 
amount of such contributions. 
‘‘(e) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall take such 
action as may be necessary to evaluate the projects funded 
under this section and publish, make available, and dis-
seminate the results of such evaluations on as wide a basis 
as is practicable. 
‘‘(f) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of the enactment of this title, and annually thereafter, the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Health, Edu-
cation, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Fi-
nance of the Senate, and the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce and the Committee on Ways and Means of the 
House of Representatives a report that— 
‘‘(1) describes the specific projects established 
under this section; and 
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‘‘(2) contains recommendations for Congress 
based on the evaluation conducted under subsection 
(e). 
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 
2008 through 2011. 
‘‘(h) SUNSET.—The provisions of this section shall 
not apply after September 30, 2012.’’. 
TITLE III—IMPROVING THE 
QUALITY OF HEALTH CARE 
SEC. 301. CONSENSUS PROCESS FOR THE ADOPTION OF 
QUALITY MEASURES FOR USE IN THE NA-
TIONWIDE INTEROPERABLE HEALTH INFOR-
MATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE. 
Title XXX of the Public Health Service Act, as 
amended by section 201, is further amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 3010. FOSTERING DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF 
HEALTH CARE QUALITY MEASURES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide for 
the development and use of health care quality measures 
(referred to in this title as ‘quality measures’) for the pur-
pose of measuring the quality and efficiency of health care 
that patients receive. 
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‘‘(b) DESIGNATION OF, AND ARRANGEMENT WITH, 
ORGANIZATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of this title, the Sec-
retary shall designate, and have in effect an ar-
rangement with, a single organization that meets the 
requirements of subsection (c) under which such or-
ganization will promote the development of quality 
measures and provide the Secretary with advice and 
recommendations on the key elements and priorities 
of a national system for health care performance 
measurement. 
‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities 
to be performed by the organization designated 
under paragraph (1) (referred to in this title as the 
‘designated organization’) shall include— 
‘‘(A) establishing and managing an inte-
grated national strategy and process for setting 
priorities and goals in establishing quality 
measures; 
‘‘(B) coordinating and harmonizing the de-
velopment and testing of such measures; 
‘‘(C) establishing standards for the devel-
opment and testing of such measures; 
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‘‘(D) endorsing national consensus quality 
measures; 
‘‘(E) recommending, in collaboration with 
multi-stakeholder groups, quality measures to 
the Secretary for adoption and use; 
‘‘(F) promoting the development and use 
of electronic health records that contain the 
functionality for automated collection, aggrega-
tion, and transmission of performance measure-
ment information; and 
‘‘(G) providing recommendations and ad-
vice to the Partnership regarding the integra-
tion of quality measures into the certification 
process outlined under section 3003 and the 
Community regarding national policies outlined 
under section 3004. 
‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS
DESCRIBED.—The require-
ments described in this subsection are the following: 
‘‘(1) PRIVATE ENTITY.—The organization shall 
be a private nonprofit entity that is governed by a 
board of directors and an individual who is des-
ignated as president and chief executive officer. 
‘‘(2) BOARD
MEMBERSHIP.—The members of 
the board of directors of the entity shall include rep-
resentatives of— 
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‘‘(A) health care providers or groups rep-
resenting providers; 
‘‘(B) health plans or groups representing 
health plans; 
‘‘(C) patients or consumers enrolled in 
such plans or groups representing individuals 
enrolled in such plans; 
‘‘(D) health care purchasers and employers 
or groups representing purchasers or employers; 
and 
‘‘(E) organizations that develop health in-
formation technology standards and new health 
information technology. 
‘‘(3) OTHER
MEMBERSHIP
REQUIREMENTS.— 
The membership of the board of directors of the en-
tity shall be representative of individuals with expe-
rience with— 
‘‘(A) urban health care issues; 
‘‘(B) safety net health care issues; 
‘‘(C) rural or frontier health care issues; 
‘‘(D) quality and safety issues; 
‘‘(E) State or local health programs; 
‘‘(F) individuals or entities skilled in the 
conduct and interpretation of biomedical, health 
services, and health economics research and 
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with expertise in outcomes and effectiveness re-
search and technology assessment; and 
‘‘(G) individuals or entities involved in the 
development and establishment of standards 
and certification for health information tech-
nology systems and clinical data. 
‘‘(4) OPEN AND TRANSPARENT.—With respect 
to matters related to the arrangement with the Sec-
retary under subsection (a)(1), the organization 
shall conduct its business in an open and trans-
parent manner, and provide the opportunity for pub-
lic comment and ensure a balance among disparate 
stakeholders, so that no member organization unduly 
influences the work of the organization. 
‘‘(5) VOLUNTARY CONSENSUS STANDARDS SET-
TING ORGANIZATIONS.—The organization shall oper-
ate as a voluntary consensus standards setting orga-
nization as defined for purposes of section 12(d) of 
the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (Public Law 104–113) and Office of 
Management and Budget Revised Circular A–119 
(published in the Federal Register on February 10, 
1998). 
‘‘(6) PARTICIPATION.—If the organization re-
quires a fee for membership, the organization shall 
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ensure that such fee is not a substantial barrier to 
participation in the entity’s activities related to the 
arrangement with the Secretary. 
‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS FOR MEASURES.—The quality 
measures developed under this title shall comply with the 
following: 
‘‘(1) MEASURES.—The designated organization, 
in promoting the development of quality measures 
under this title, shall ensure that such measures— 
‘‘(A) are evidence-based, reliable, and 
valid; 
‘‘(B) include— 
‘‘(i) measures of clinical processes and 
outcomes, patient experience, efficiency, 
and equity; and 
‘‘(ii) measures to assess effectiveness, 
timeliness, patient self-management, pa-
tient centeredness, and safety; and 
‘‘(C) include measures of underuse and 
overuse. 
‘‘(2) PRIORITIES.—In carrying out its respon-
sibilities under this section, the designated organiza-
tion shall ensure that priority is given to— 
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‘‘(A) measures with the greatest potential 
impact for improving the performance and effi-
ciency of care; 
‘‘(B) measures that may be rapidly imple-
mented by group health plans, health insurance 
issuers, physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, 
long-term care providers, and other providers; 
‘‘(C) measures which may inform health 
care decisions made by consumers and patients; 
‘‘(D) measures that apply to multiple serv-
ices furnished by different providers during an 
episode of care; 
‘‘(E) measures that can be integrated into 
the certification process described in section 
3003; and 
‘‘(F) measures that may be integrated into 
the decision support function of qualified health 
information technology. 
‘‘(3) RISK ADJUSTMENT.—The designated orga-
nization, in consultation with performance measure 
developers and other stakeholders, shall establish 
procedures to ensure that quality measures take into 
account differences in patient health status, patient 
characteristics, and geographic location, as appro-
priate. 
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‘‘(4) MAINTENANCE.—The designated organiza-
tion, in consultation with owners and developers of 
quality measures, shall require the owners or devel-
opers of quality measures to update and enhance 
such measures, including the development of more 
accurate and precise specifications, and retire exist-
ing outdated measures. Such updating shall occur 
not more often than once during each 12-month pe-
riod, except in the case of emergency circumstances 
requiring a more immediate update to a measure. 
‘‘(e) GRANTS FOR PERFORMANCE MEASURE DEVEL-
OPMENT.—The Secretary, acting through the Agency for 
Healthcare Research and Quality, may award grants, in 
amounts not to exceed $50,000 each, to organizations to 
support the development and testing of quality measures 
that meet the standards established by the designated or-
ganization. 
‘‘SEC. 3011. ADOPTION AND USE OF QUALITY MEASURES; 
REPORTING. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of carrying out ac-
tivities authorized or required by this title to ensure the 
use of quality measures and to foster uniformity between 
health care quality measures utilized by private entities, 
the Secretary shall— 
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‘‘(1) select quality measures for adoption and 
use, from quality measures recommended by multi- 
stakeholder groups and endorsed by the designated 
organization; and 
‘‘(2) ensure that standards adopted under sec-
tion 3003 integrate the quality measures endorsed, 
adopted, and utilized under this section. 
‘‘(b) RELATIONSHIP WITH PROGRAMS UNDER THE 
SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.—The Secretary shall ensure that 
the quality measures adopted under this section— 
‘‘(1) complement quality measures developed by 
the Secretary under programs administered by the 
Secretary under the Social Security Act, including 
programs under titles XVIII, XIX, and XXI of such 
Act; and 
‘‘(2) do not conflict with the needs and prior-
ities of the programs under titles XVIII, XIX, and 
XXI of such Act, as set forth by the Administrator 
of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 
‘‘(c) REPORTING.—The Secretary shall implement 
procedures, consistent with generally accepted standards, 
to enable the Department of Health and Human Services 
to accept the electronic submission of data for purposes 
of performance measurement, including at the provider 
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level, using the quality measures developed, endorsed, and 
adopted pursuant to this title. 
‘‘(d) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—In order to 
make comparative performance information available to 
health care consumers, health professionals, public health 
officials, oversight organizations, researchers, and other 
appropriate individuals and entities, after consultation 
with multi-stakeholder groups, the Secretary shall promul-
gate regulations to provide for the dissemination, aggrega-
tion, and analysis of quality measures collected pursuant 
to this title.’’. 
TITLE IV—PRIVACY AND 
SECURITY 
SEC. 401. PRIVACY AND SECURITY. 
Title XXX of the Public Health Service Act, as 
amended by section 301, is further amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 3012. ENSURING PRIVACY AND SECURITY. 
‘‘(a) PRIVACY PROTECTIONS APPLY TO HEALTH IN-
FORMATION ELECTRONIC DATABASES.—An operator of a 
health information electronic database shall be deemed to 
be a ‘covered entity’ for purposes of sections 1171 through 
1179 of the Social Security Act and the regulations pro-
mulgated under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance 
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Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (referred to in 
this section as the ‘HIPAA privacy regulations’). 
‘‘(b) HEALTH INFORMATION ELECTRONIC DATABASE 
DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘operator of a health 
information electronic database’ means an entity that— 
‘‘(1) is constituted, organized, or chartered for 
the primary purpose of maintaining or transmitting 
protected health information in a designated record 
set or sets; 
‘‘(2) receives valuable consideration for main-
taining or transmitting protected health information 
in a designated record set or sets; and 
‘‘(3) is not a provider, a payer, a health care 
clearinghouse or business associate of a covered enti-
ty as such terms are defined in the HIPAA privacy 
regulations. 
‘‘(c) RIGHT OF INDIVIDUALS TO INSPECT THEIR 
MEDICAL RECORDS MAINTAINED IN ELECTRONIC FOR-
MAT.—To the extent provided for under the HIPAA pri-
vacy regulations with respect to protected health informa-
tion, an individual shall have a right of access to inspect 
and obtain a copy of protected health information about 
the individual stored in electronic format. 
‘‘(d) RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE VICTIMS OF 
MEDICAL FRAUD.—To the extent provided for under the 
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HIPAA privacy regulations and under the conditions spec-
ified in such regulations, with respect to protected health 
information, an individual who is a victim of medical fraud 
or who believes that there is an error in their protected 
health information stored in an electronic format shall 
have the right— 
‘‘(1) to have access to inspect and obtain a copy 
of protected health information about the individual, 
including the information fraudulently entered, in a 
designated record set; and 
‘‘(2) to have a covered entity amend protected 
health information or a record about the individual, 
including information fraudulently entered, in a des-
ignated electronic record set for as long as the pro-
tected health information is maintained in the des-
ignated electronic record set to ensure that fraudu-
lent and inaccurate health information is not shared 
or re-reported. 
‘‘(e) RIGHT OF INDIVIDUALS TO BE NOTIFIED FOL-
LOWING WRONGFUL DISCLOSURE.—In a manner con-
sistent with the HIPAA privacy regulations with respect 
to accounting for disclosures of protected health informa-
tion, an individual shall have the right to be notified by 
a covered entity if that covered entity wrongfully discloses 
protected health information and the wrongful disclosure 
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rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with BILLS
is materially expected to result in medical fraud or identity 
theft. The Secretary shall promulgate rules as necessary 
to carry out this subsection. 
‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to supercede or otherwise limit the 
provisions of any contract that provides for the application 
of privacy protections that are greater than the privacy 
protections provided for under the regulations promul-
gated under section 264 of the Health Insurance Port-
ability and Accountability Act of 1996.’’. 
TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 
PROVISIONS 
SEC. 501. GAO STUDY. 
Not later than 9 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall submit to Congress a report on the cir-
cumstances in which it is necessary and workable to re-
quire health plans (as defined in section 1171 of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320d)), health care clearing-
houses (as defined in such section 1171), and health care 
providers (as defined in such section 1171) who transmit 
health information in electronic form, to notify individuals 
if their individually identifiable health information (as de-
fined in such section 1171) is wrongfully disclosed. 
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SEC. 502. HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESOURCE 
CENTER. 
Section 914 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 299b–3) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(d) HEALTH
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
RE-
SOURCE CENTER.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 
through the Director, shall develop a Health Infor-
mation Technology Resource Center (referred to in 
this subsection as the ‘Center’) to provide technical 
assistance and develop best practices to support and 
accelerate efforts to adopt, implement, and effec-
tively use interoperable health information tech-
nology in compliance with sections 3003 and 3011. 
‘‘(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Center 
are to— 
‘‘(A) provide a forum for the exchange of 
knowledge and experience; 
‘‘(B) accelerate the transfer of lessons 
learned from existing public and private sector 
initiatives, including those currently receiving 
Federal financial support; 
‘‘(C) assemble, analyze, and widely dis-
seminate evidence and experience related to the 
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adoption, implementation, and effective use of 
interoperable health information technology; 
‘‘(D) provide for the establishment of re-
gional and local health information networks to 
facilitate the development of interoperability 
across health care settings and improve the 
quality of health care; 
‘‘(E) provide for the development of solu-
tions to barriers to the exchange of electronic 
health information; and 
‘‘(F) conduct other activities identified by 
the States, local, or regional health information 
networks, or health care stakeholders as a focus 
for developing and sharing best practices. 
‘‘(3) SUPPORT
FOR
ACTIVITIES.—To provide 
support for the activities of the Center, the Director 
shall modify the requirements, if necessary, that 
apply to the National Resource Center for Health 
Information Technology to provide the necessary in-
frastructure to support the duties and activities of 
the Center and facilitate information exchange 
across the public and private sectors. 
‘‘(4) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this subsection shall be construed to require the du-
plication of Federal efforts with respect to the estab-
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lishment of the Center, regardless of whether such 
efforts were carried out prior to or after the enact-
ment of this subsection. 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009 to carry 
out this section.’’. 
SEC. 503. FACILITATING THE PROVISION OF TELEHEALTH 
SERVICES ACROSS STATE LINES. 
Section 330L of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 254c–18) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 330L TELEMEDICINE; INCENTIVE GRANTS REGARD-
ING COORDINATION AMONG STATES. 
‘‘(a) FACILITATING
THE
PROVISION
OF
TELE-
HEALTH SERVICES ACROSS STATE LINES.—The Sec-
retary may make grants to States that have adopted re-
gional State reciprocity agreements for practitioner licen-
sure, in order to expedite the provision of telehealth serv-
ices across State lines. 
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 
purpose of carrying out subsection (a), there are author-
ized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 
for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.’’. 
Æ 
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