I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2915
To provide for a National Health Information Infrastructure and data and 
communication standards for health information system interoperability. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 25, 2003
Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut (for herself, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. NUSSLE, 
Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin, and Mr. 
BURGESS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To provide for a National Health Information Infrastructure 
and data and communication standards for health infor-
mation system interoperability.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Health Infor-
mation Infrastructure Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. NATIONAL HEALTH INFORMATION INFRASTRUC-
TURE. 
(a) NATIONAL HEALTH INFORMATION OFFICER.—
(1) APPOINTMENT.—By not later than 6 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this 
Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall appoint an 
individual as the National Health Information Offi-
cer for the Department of Health and Human Serv-
ices. 
(2) GENERAL DUTIES.—Such Officer shall re-
port directly to the Secretary and shall be respon-
sible for developing and maintaining ongoing na-
tional leadership in the planning, development, and 
adoption of a national health information infrastruc-
ture. The Secretary may assign to the Officer other 
duties that would promote the goals of this Act. 
(3) STRATEGIC
PLAN.—Not later than 6 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the National Health Information Officer shall, in co-
operation with key stakeholders, develop a strategic 
plan to create a comprehensive national health infor-
mation infrastructure that encompasses public-sector 
and private-sector health information activities. Such 
plans shall include a national agenda to guide policy-
making, technology investments, research, and inte-
gration with ongoing public health, healthcare, and 
health information technology activities and a
timeline for the specific duties described in sub-
section (d)(1). 
(4) LIMITED TERM OF OFFICE.—The National 
Health Information Officer shall serve for a term of 
5 years, after which, unless extended by Act of Con-
gress, the office shall terminate. 
(b) GOALS.—The goals of the national health infor-
mation infrastructure are—
(1) to maximize positive outcomes in clinical 
care; 
(2) to minimize preventable medical errors, es-
pecially in hospitals and in the administration of 
contraindicated drugs; 
(3) to reduce redundant paperwork, such as the 
repeated taking of patient histories; 
(4) to decrease costs from duplicative or other-
wise unnecessary testing or procedures; and 
(5) to establish a compatible information tech-
nology architecture that increases health care quality 
and cost-savings, enhances security of information, 
and avoids the financing and development of health 
information technology systems that are not readily 
compatible. 
(c) COLLABORATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall assure 
that activities of the Department of Health and 
Human Services that relate to the national health 
information infrastructure are undertaken after con-
sultation with and based on the recommendations of 
the parties described in paragraph (3). 
(2) 
PERIODIC
MEETINGS.—The 
Secretary, 
through the National Health Information Officer, 
shall convene as a group the parties described in 
paragraph (3). Such group shall meet periodically 
and collaborate to make recommendations to such 
Officer and the Secretary on the matters described 
in subsection (d). 
(3) PARTIES REPRESENTED.—The parties de-
scribed in this paragraph are experts from the fields 
of medical information, information technology, med-
ical continuous quality improvement, and medical 
records security and privacy, appropriate staff ex-
perts from Federal agencies (including those within 
the Department of Health and Human Services) and 
representatives of the following: 
(A) The National Committee on Vital and 
Health Statistics, the National Institutes of 
Standards and Technology, the National Li-
brary of Medicine, and the Agency for 
Healthcare Research and Quality. 
(B) Individual and institutional health care 
clinical providers, including a teaching hospital 
and physicians. 
(C) Clinical and health services research-
ers. 
(D) Health care purchasers. 
(E) Private organizations with expertise in 
medical informatics. 
(F) Patient groups. 
(G) A State or local public health depart-
ment. 
(H) The health care information tech-
nology industry and national alliances formed 
to achieve standards-based health care informa-
tion systems. 
(d) DUTIES.—In carrying out subsection (a), the Na-
tional Health Information Officer shall advise the Sec-
retary on the following, in order to promote the goals de-
scribed in subsection (b): 
(1)(A) Not later than 1 year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, an assessment of—