I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2549 
To amend the HITECH Act with respect to accessing, sharing, and using 
health data for research purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 21, 2015 
Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the HITECH Act with respect to accessing, 
sharing, and using health data for research purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. ACCESSING, SHARING, AND USING HEALTH 
DATA FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The HITECH Act (title XIII of 
division A of Public Law 111–5) is amended by adding 
at the end of subtitle D of such Act (42 U.S.C. 17921 
et seq.) the following: 
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‘‘PART 4—ACCESSING, SHARING, AND USING 
HEALTH DATA FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES 
‘‘SEC. 13441. REFERENCES. 
‘‘In this part: 
‘‘(a) THE RULE.—References to ‘the Rule’ refer to 
part 160 or part 164, as appropriate, of title 45, Code 
of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation). 
‘‘(b) PART 164.—References to a specified section of 
‘part 164’, refer to such specified section of part 164 of 
title 45, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor 
section). 
‘‘SEC. 13442. DEFINING HEALTH DATA RESEARCH AS PART 
OF HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the 
Secretary shall revise or clarify the rule to allow the use 
and disclosure of protected health information by a cov-
ered entity for research purposes, including studies whose 
purpose is to obtain generalizable knowledge, to be treated 
as the use and disclosure of such information for health 
care operations described in subparagraph (1) of the defi-
nition of health care operations in section 164.501 of part 
164. 
‘‘(b) MODIFICATIONS TO RULES FOR DISCLOSURES 
FOR HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS.—In applying section 
164.506 of part 164 to the disclosure of protected health 
information described in subsection (a)— 
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‘‘(1) the Secretary shall revise or clarify the 
Rule so that the disclosure may be made by the cov-
ered entity to only— 
‘‘(A) another covered entity for health care 
operations (as defined in such section 164.501 
of part 164); 
‘‘(B) a business associate that has entered 
into a contract under section 164.504(e) of part 
164 with a disclosing covered entity to perform 
health care operations; or 
‘‘(C) a business associate that has entered 
into a contract under section 164.504(e) of part 
164 for the purpose of data aggregation (as de-
fined in such section 164.501 of part 164); and 
‘‘(2) the Secretary shall further revise or clarify 
the Rule so that the limitation specified by section 
164.506(c)(4) of part 164 does not apply to disclo-
sures that are described by subsection (a). 
‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section shall 
not be construed as prohibiting or restricting a use or dis-
closure of protected health information for research pur-
poses that is otherwise permitted under part 164. 
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