efficiency of prescription ordering and the safe and 
effective use of prescription drugs. The study shall 
address the following: 
(A) The ability of such programs to reduce 
medical errors and improve the quality and 
safety of patient care. 
(B) The impact of the use of such pro-
grams on physicians, pharmacists, and patients, 
including such factors as direct and indirect 
costs, changes in productivity, and satisfaction. 
(C) The effectiveness of strategies for over-
coming barriers to the use of electronic pre-
scription programs. 
(2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall ensure that, 
not later than 18 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, a report containing the findings of 
the study under paragraph (1) is submitted to the 
appropriate committees of the Congress. 
(3) DISSEMINATION OF FINDINGS.—The Sec-
retary shall disseminate the findings of the study 
under paragraph (1) to appropriate public and pri-
vate entities. 
(c) DEVELOPMENT OF MODEL.—The Secretary, act-
ing through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Re-
search and Quality, may develop an Internet-based mathe-
matical model that simulates the cost and effectiveness of 
electronic prescription programs for qualified practi-
tioners. The model may be designed to allow qualified 
practitioners to estimate, through an interactive interface, 
the impact of electronic prescribing on their practices, in-
cluding the reduction in drug-related health care errors. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘electronic prescription pro-
gram’’— 
(A) means a program for the electronic 
submission and processing of prescriptions; and 
(B) includes the hardware (including com-
puters and other electronic devices) and soft-
ware programs for the electronic submission of 
prescriptions to pharmacies, the processing of 
such submissions by pharmacies, and decision- 
support programs. 
(2) The term ‘‘qualified practitioner’’ means a 
practitioner licensed by law to administer or dis-
pense prescription drugs. 
SEC. 7. GRANTS TO HOSPITALS AND OTHER HEALTH CARE 
PROVIDERS 
FOR 
INFORMATION 
TECH-
NOLOGIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall make grants to hospitals and other health 
care providers (but not more than 1 grant to any 1 hos-
pital or provider) to pay the costs of acquiring or imple-
menting information technologies whose purposes are— 
(1) to improve quality of care and patient safe-
ty; and 
(2) to reduce adverse events and health care 
complications resulting from medication errors. 
(b) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.—In making grants 
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give special con-
sideration to applicants who seek to promote the following: 
(1) Interoperability across hospital services or 
departments using standards developed or adopted 
by the Secretary under section 4. 
(2) Electronic communication of patient data 
across the spectrum of health care delivery. 
(3) Computerized physician order entry or bar 
coding applications. 
(4) Electronic communication of patient data in 
hospitals that provide services to underserved or low- 
income populations. 
(5) Improved clinical decisionmaking through 
acquisition and implementation of decision-support 
technologies.
(c) CERTAIN GRANT CONDITIONS.—A condition for 
the receipt of a grant under subsection (a) is that the ap-
plicant involved meet the following requirements: 
(1) The applicant agrees to carry out a pro-
gram to measure, analyze, and report patient safety 
and medical errors at the hospital or other health 
care provider involved, to submit to the Secretary a 
description of the methodology that will be used, and 
to have such program in effect as soon as prac-
ticable after the application for the grant is ap-
proved, without regard to whether information tech-
nologies under the grant have been implemented. 
(2) The applicant has arranged for an evalua-
tion that addresses the effectiveness and cost-effec-
tiveness of the information technology for which the 
grant is provided and its impact on the quality and 
safety of patient care, submitted the evaluation plan 
to the Secretary, and received approval from the 
Secretary of the applicant’s methodology. 
(3) The applicant has or is developing a patient 
safety evaluation system (as that term is defined in 
section 921 of the Public Health Service Act (as 
amended by section 3)) for reporting health care er-
rors to a patient safety organization.
(4) The applicant agrees to provide the Sec-
retary with such information as the Secretary may 
require regarding the use of funds under this pro-
gram or its impact. 
(5) The applicant provides assurances satisfac-
tory to the Secretary that any information tech-
nology planned, acquired, or implemented with grant 
funds under this section will be part of an informa-
tion program that— 
(A) carries out the purposes described in 
subsection (a); and 
(B) is comprehensive or will be expanded 
to become comprehensive, regardless of whether 
Federal assistance is available for such expan-
sion. 
(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO GRANTEES.—The 
Secretary, acting through the Director of the Agency for 
Healthcare Research and Quality, shall provide technical 
assistance to applicants and grantees to ensure the appro-
priate evaluation of the information technologies for which 
grants are awarded under this section, such as— 
(1) reviewing and providing technical assistance 
on the applicant’s proposed evaluation; 
(2) developing mechanisms to ensure ongoing 
communications between grantees and evaluators to
facilitate the identification and resolution of prob-
lems as they arise, ensure mutual learning, and pro-
mote the rapid dissemination of information; 
(3) reviewing the interim and final reports re-
quired under subsection (e); and 
(4) disseminating evidence-based information in 
interim and final reports to patient safety organiza-
tions, as appropriate. 
(e) EVALUATION REPORTS BY GRANTEE.—A condi-
tion for the receipt of a grant under subsection (a) is that 
the applicant agree to submit an interim and a final report 
to the Secretary in accordance with this subsection. 
(1) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 
after the implementation of information technologies 
under the grant is completed, the applicant will sub-
mit an interim report to the Secretary describing the 
initial effectiveness of such technologies in carrying 
out the purposes described in subsection (a). 
(2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 3 years 
after the implementation of information technologies 
under the grant is completed, the applicant will sub-
mit a final report to the Secretary describing the ef-
fectiveness and cost-effectiveness of such tech-
nologies and addressing other issues determined to
be important in carrying out the purposes described 
in subsection (a). 
(3) RELATION TO DISBURSEMENT OF GRANT.— 
In disbursing a grant under subsection (a), the Sec-
retary shall withhold 1⁄3 of the grant until the grant-
ee submits to the Secretary the report required in 
paragraph (1). 
(f) REPORTS BY SECRETARY.— 
(1) INTERIM REPORTS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Through the fiscal year 
preceding the fiscal year in which the final re-
port under paragraph (2) is prepared, the Sec-
retary shall submit to the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate periodic re-
ports on the grant program under subsection 
(a). Such reports shall be submitted not less 
frequently than once each fiscal year, beginning 
with fiscal year 2004. 
(B) CONTENTS.—A report under subpara-
graph (A) shall include information on— 
(i) the number of grants made;
(ii) the nature of the projects for 
which funding is provided under the grant 
program; 
(iii) the geographic distribution of 
grant recipients; and 
(iv) such other matters as the Sec-
retary determines appropriate. 
(2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date on which the last of the reports is due 
under subsection (e)(2), the Secretary shall submit 
a final report to the committees referred to in para-
graph (1)(A) on the grant program under subsection 
(a), together with such recommendations for legisla-
tion and administrative action as the Secretary de-
termines appropriate. 
(g) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘costs’’, with respect to informa-
tion technologies referred to in subsection (a), in-
cludes total expenditures incurred for— 
(A) purchasing, leasing, and installing 
computer software and hardware, including 
hand-held computer technologies; 
(B) making improvements to existing com-
puter software and hardware; and
(C) purchasing or leasing communications 
capabilities necessary for clinical data access, 
storage, and exchange. 
(2) The term ‘‘health care provider’’ has the 
same meaning given to the term ‘‘provider’’ in sec-
tion 921 of the Public Health Services Act (as 
amended by this Act). 
(h) TERMINATION OF GRANT AUTHORITIES.—The 
authority of the Secretary to make grants under sub-
section (a) terminates upon the expiration of fiscal year 
2013. 
(i) MATCHING FUNDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to the costs of 
a grant to be carried out under this section, such 
grant may be made only if the applicant agrees to 
make available (directly or through donations from 
public or private entities) non-Federal contributions 
toward such costs in an amount that is not less than 
50 percent of such costs ($1 for each $1 of Federal 
funds provided in the grant). 
(2) DETERMINATION
OF
AMOUNTS
CONTRIB-
UTED.—Amounts provided by the Federal Govern-
ment, or services assisted or subsidized to any sig-
nificant extent by the Federal Government, may not
be included in determining the amount of such non- 
Federal contributions. 
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR GRANTS 
UNDER SECTIONS 6 AND 7. 
For the purpose of carrying out sections 6 and 7, 
there are authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2006 and 2007. 
Æ