I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 877
To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to improve patient safety. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 25, 2003
Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut (for herself, Mr. STARK, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. 
CAMP, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. MCINNIS, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. 
HERGER, Mr. WELLER, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. ENGLISH, and 
Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently de-
termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to improve 
patient safety.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Patient Safety Improvement Act of 2003’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Patient safety improvements.
‘‘PART D—PATIENT SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS 
‘‘Sec. 1181. Voluntary reporting of patient safety data; definitions. 
‘‘Sec. 1182. Confidentiality and peer review protections. 
‘‘Sec. 1183. Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety. 
‘‘Sec. 1184. Interoperability standards for health care information tech-
nology systems. 
‘‘Sec. 1185. Voluntary adoption of methods to improve patient safety. 
‘‘Sec. 1186. Evaluation and report. 
Sec. 3. Medical Information Technology Advisory Board.
SEC. 2. PATIENT SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS. 
Title XI of the Social Security Act is amended by 
adding at the end the following new part: 
‘‘PART D—PATIENT SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS 
‘‘VOLUNTARY REPORTING OF PATIENT SAFETY DATA; 
DEFINITIONS 
‘‘SEC. 1181. (a) COLLECTION AND VOLUNTARY RE-
PORTING OF PATIENT SAFETY DATA.—In order to im-
prove patient safety and the quality of health care delivery, 
a health care provider (as defined in subsection (d)) may 
voluntarily collect and develop patient safety data (as de-
fined in subsection (e)) and report such data to one or 
more patient safety organizations (as defined in subsection 
(f)) in a manner that is confidential and privileged (as 
described in section 1182). 
‘‘(b) USE OF PATIENT SAFETY DATA BY PATIENT 
SAFETY ORGANIZATIONS.—Patient safety organizations 
shall analyze the patient safety data reported and develop 
(and report back to health care providers) information to 
improve patient safety and the quality of health care deliv-
ery and shall submit non-identifiable information derived
from such data in a uniform manner to the Center for 
Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (for inclusion in 
the Patient Safety Database, if applicable). Such non-
identifiable information may be disclosed and shared with 
other patient safety organizations. Identifiable patient 
safety data may be disclosed to other patient safety orga-
nizations with the explicit authorization for each such dis-
closure by the reporting provider involved. 
‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS OF CENTER.—The Center for Qual-
ity Improvement and Patient Safety conducts patient safe-
ty activities consistent with section 1183.
‘‘(d) HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS COVERED.—For 
purposes of this part, the term ‘health care provider’ 
means a provider of services (as defined in section 1861(u) 
and including a hospital, skilled nursing facility, home 
health agency, and hospice program) that provides services 
for which payment may be made under part A of title 
XVIII and the provider’s employees, and includes physi-
cians insofar as they furnish health care services in the 
health care provider. 
‘‘(e) PATIENT SAFETY DATA COVERED.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this part, 
the term ‘patient safety data’ means any data, re-
ports, records, memoranda, analyses, deliberative 
work, statements, or root cause analyses that are
collected or developed to improve patient safety or 
health care quality and that— 
‘‘(A) are collected or developed by a health 
care provider for the purpose of reporting to a 
patient safety organization and that are re-
ported on a timely basis to such an organiza-
tion; 
‘‘(B) are collected or developed by a pa-
tient safety organization or by (or on behalf of) 
the Center for Quality Improvement and Pa-
tient Safety, regardless of whether the data are 
transmitted to the health care provider that re-
ported the original data; or 
‘‘(C) describes corrective actions taken by 
a health care provider in response to the pro-
vider’s reporting of data to that organization, 
regardless of whether the organization has 
transmitted under subsection (f)(2) information 
to the health care provider that reported the 
original data, and that are reported on a timely 
basis to such an organization. 
‘‘(2) 
CONSTRUCTION
REGARDING
USE
OF 
DATA.—
‘‘(A) INTERNAL USE PERMITTED TO IM-
PROVE PATIENT SAFETY, QUALITY, AND EFFI-
CIENCY.—Nothing in this part shall be con-
strued to limit or discourage a health care pro-
vider from developing and using patient safety 
data within the provider to improve patient 
safety, health care quality, or administrative ef-
ficiency of the provider. 
‘‘(B) TREATMENT.—Information that is 
collected or developed as patient safety data is 
not disqualified from being treated as patient 
safety data because of its development or use 
for the purposes described in subparagraph (A) 
and such development or use shall not con-
stitute a waiver of any privilege or protection 
established under section 1182 or under State 
law. 
‘‘(f) QUALIFICATIONS OF PATIENT SAFETY ORGANI-
ZATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this part, 
the term ‘patient safety organization’ means a pri-
vate or public organization that conducts activities 
to improve patient safety and the quality of health 
care delivery by assisting health care providers that 
report to such organizations and that has been cer-
tified by the Secretary as—
‘‘(A) performing each of the activities de-
scribed in paragraph (2); and 
‘‘(B) meets the other requirements of para-
graphs (3) through (5). 
‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES
DESCRIBED.—The activities 
referred to in paragraph (1)(A) are the following: 
‘‘(A) The collection and analysis of patient 
safety data that are voluntarily reported by 
more than one health care provider on a local, 
regional, State, or national basis. 
‘‘(B) The development and dissemination 
of information to health care providers and 
other patient safety organizations with respect 
to improving patient safety, such as rec-
ommendations, protocols, or information re-
garding best practices. 
‘‘(C) The utilization of patient safety data 
to carry out activities under this paragraph to 
improve patient safety and to provide assistance 
to health care providers to minimize patient 
risk.
‘‘(3) CONDUCT OF ACTIVITIES.—In conducting 
activities under paragraph (2), a patient safety orga-
nization shall—
‘‘(A) maintain confidentiality with respect 
to individually identifiable health information; 
‘‘(B) submit non-identifiable information 
to the Center for Quality Improvement and Pa-
tient Safety in a format established by the Sec-
retary; and 
‘‘(C) maintain appropriate security meas-
ures with respect to patient safety data. 
‘‘(4) ORGANIZATION REQUIREMENTS.—The re-
quirements of this paragraph for an organization are 
that—
‘‘(A) the organization is managed, con-
trolled, and operated independently from health 
care providers which report patient safety data 
to it under this part; 
‘‘(B) if the organization no longer qualifies 
as a patient safety organization, with respect to 
any patient safety data that it received from a 
health care provider, the organization shall do 
one of the following: 
‘‘(i) with the approval of the provider 
and another patient safety organization, 
transfer such data to such other organiza-
tion;
‘‘(ii) if practicable, return the data to 
the provider; or 
‘‘(iii) destroy the patient safety data; 
‘‘(C) if the organization charges a fee for 
the activities it performs with respect to health 
care providers, the fee shall be uniform among 
all classes or types of health care providers 
(taking into account the size of the health care 
provider); 
‘‘(D) the organization seeks to collect data 
from health care providers in a standardized 
manner that permits valid comparisons of simi-
lar cases among similar health care providers; 
and 
‘‘(E) the organization meets such other re-
quirements as the Secretary may by regulation 
require. 
For purposes of subparagraph (A), an organization 
is controlled by a health care provider if the provider 
is able to significantly influence or direct the actions 
or policies of the organization. 
‘‘(5) LIMITATION ON USE OF PATIENT SAFETY 
DATA BY PATIENT SAFETY ORGANIZATIONS.—A pa-
tient safety organization may not use patient safety 
data reported by a health care provider in accord-
ance with this part to take regulatory or enforce-
ment actions it otherwise performs (or is responsible 
for performing) in relation to such provider. 
‘‘(6) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 
may provide technical assistance to patient safety or-
ganizations in providing recommendations and ad-
vice to health care providers reporting patient safety 
data under this part. Such assistance shall include 
advice with respect to methodology, communication, 
dissemination of information, data collection, secu-
rity, and confidentiality concerns. 
‘‘(g) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this part shall be 
construed to limit or discourage the reporting of informa-
tion relating to patient safety within a health care pro-
vider. 
‘‘CONFIDENTIALITY AND PEER REVIEW PROTECTIONS 
‘‘SEC. 1182. (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, patient safety data shall be privi-
leged and confidential in accordance with this section. 
‘‘(b) SCOPE
OF PRIVILEGE.—Subject to the suc-
ceeding provisions of this section, such data shall not be—
‘‘(1) subject to a civil or administrative sub-
poena; 
‘‘(2) subject to discovery in connection with a 
civil or administrative proceeding;
‘‘(3) disclosed pursuant to section 552 of title 
5, United States Code (commonly known as the 
Freedom of Information Act) or any other similar 
Federal or State law; or 
‘‘(4) admitted as evidence or otherwise disclosed 
in any civil or administrative proceeding. 
‘‘(c) CLARIFICATION OF SCOPE.—The privilege estab-
lished by this section with respect to patient safety data 
described in section 1181(e)(1)(A) shall apply to informa-
tion, such as records of a patient’s medical diagnosis and 
treatment, other primary health care information, and 
other information, to the extent that such information was 
collected or developed for the purpose specified in such 
section and is reported in accordance with such section. 
Such privilege shall not apply to information merely by 
reason of its inclusion, or the fact of its submission, in 
a report under such section. Information available from 
sources other than a report made under such section may 
be discovered or admitted in a civil or administrative pro-
ceeding, if discoverable or admissible under applicable 
state law. 
‘‘(d) INFORMATION NOT SUBJECT TO PRIVILEGE.—
The privilege established by this section shall not apply 
to one or more of the following:
‘‘(1) MEDICAL RECORDS AND OTHER PRIMARY 
HEALTH RECORDS.—Records of a patient’s medical 
diagnosis and treatment and other primary health 
records of a health care provider. Such privilege 
shall not apply to such information by reason of its 
inclusion within patient safety data. 
‘‘(2) NON-IDENTIFIABLE
INFORMATION
USED 
BY DATABASE.—Non-identifiable information from a 
patient safety organization to the Patient Safety 
Database and the further disclosure of such data by 
the Center for Quality Improvement and Patient 
Safety. 
‘‘(e) REPORTER PROTECTION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A health care provider may 
not use against an individual in an adverse employ-
ment action described in paragraph (2) the fact that 
the individual in good faith reported—
‘‘(A) to the provider with the intention of 
having it reported to a patient safety organiza-
tion, or 
‘‘(B) directly to a patient safety organiza-
tion, information that would constitute patient 
safety data under section 1181(e)(1)(A) if the 
provider were to have submitted it on a timely
basis to a patient safety organization in accord-
ance with such section. 
‘‘(2) ADVERSE
EMPLOYMENT
ACTION.—For 
purposes of this subsection, an ‘adverse employment 
action’ includes—
‘‘(A) the failure to promote an individual 
or provide any other employment-related benefit 
for which the individual would otherwise be eli-
gible; 
‘‘(B) an evaluation or decision made in re-
lation 
to 
accreditation, 
certification, 
credentialing or licensing of the individual; and 
‘‘(C) a personnel action that is adverse to 
the individual concerned. 
‘‘(3) REMEDIES.—The provisions of the first 
sentence of section 1128A(a) shall apply with re-
spect to a health care provider’s violation of para-
graph (1) in the same manner as they apply to an 
act referred to in section 1128A(a)(7). 
‘‘(f) PENALTY.—It is unlawful for any person to dis-
close any patient safety data in violation of the provisions 
of this section. Any person violating such provisions shall 
be subject to the same sanctions under section 1160(c) 
(relating to, upon conviction, a fine of not more than 
$1,000, imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or
both, per disclosure and payment of the costs of prosecu-
tion) as a person who discloses any information described 
in section 1160(a). 
‘‘(g) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—
‘‘(1) NO LIMITATION OF OTHER PRIVILEGES.—
Subject to paragraph (2), nothing in this section 
shall be construed as affecting other privileges that 
are available under Federal or State laws that pro-
vide greater peer review or confidentiality protec-
tions than the peer review and confidentiality protec-
tions provided for in this section. 
‘‘(2) NO EFFECT ON STATE MANDATORY RE-
PORTING
REQUIREMENTS.—Nothing in this part 
shall be construed as preempting or otherwise affect-
ing any State law mandatory reporting requirement 
for health care providers. 
‘‘(h) APPLICATION OF PRIVACY REGULATIONS.—For 
purposes of applying the regulations promulgated pursu-
ant to section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability 
and Accountability Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–191; 110 
Stat. 2033)—
‘‘(1) patient safety organizations shall be treat-
ed as business associates; 
‘‘(2) activities of such organizations described 
in section 1181(f)(2)(A) in relation to a health care
provider are deemed to be health care operations of 
the provider; and 
‘‘(3) the disclosure of identifiable information 
under the voluntary program under this part by 
such an organization shall be treated as necessary 
for the proper management and administration of 
the organization. 
Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter or affect 
the implementation of such regulation or such section 
264(c). 
‘‘(i) WAIVERS.—Nothing in this part shall be con-
strued as precluding a health care provider from waiving 
the privilege or confidentiality protections under this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(j) CONTINUATION OF PRIVILEGE.—Patient safety 
data of an organization that is certified as a patient safety 
organization shall continue to be privileged and confiden-
tial, in accordance with this section, if the organization’s 
certification is terminated or revoked or if the organization 
otherwise ceases to qualify as a patient safety organization 
until the data are otherwise disposed of in accordance with 
section 1181(f)(4). 
‘‘(k) SURVEY AND REPORT.— 
‘‘(1) SURVEY.—The Comptroller General of the 
United States shall conduct a survey of State laws
that relate to patient safety data peer review sys-
tems, including laws that establish an evidentiary 
privilege applicable to data developed in such sys-
tems, and shall review the manner in which such 
laws have been interpreted by the courts and the ef-
fectiveness of such laws in promoting patient safety. 
‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 9 months after 
the date of enactment of this section, the Comp-
troller General shall prepare and submit to Congress 
a report concerning the results of the survey con-
ducted under paragraph (1).
‘‘CENTER FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AND PATIENT 
SAFETY 
‘‘SEC. 1183. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
ensure that the Center for Quality Improvement and Pa-
tient Safety (in this section referred to as the ‘Center’) 
supports public and private sector initiatives to improve 
patient safety for items and services furnished through 
health care providers. 
‘‘(b) DUTIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 
that the Center carries out the following duties: 
‘‘(A) Provide for the certification and re-
certification of patient safety organizations in 
accordance with subsection (d).
‘‘(B) Collect and disseminate information 
related to patient safety. 
‘‘(C) Establish a Patient Safety Database 
to collect, support, and coordinate the analysis 
of non-identifiable information submitted to the 
Database in accordance with subsection (e). 
‘‘(D) Facilitate the development of con-
sensus among health care providers, patients, 
and other interested parties concerning patient 
safety and recommendations to improve patient 
safety. 
‘‘(E) Provide technical assistance to States 
that have (or are developing) medical errors re-
porting systems, assist States in developing 
standardized methods for data collection, and 
collect data from State reporting systems for 
inclusion in the Patient Safety Database. 
‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the du-
ties under paragraph (1) (including the establish-
ment of the Database), the Secretary shall consult 
with and develop partnerships, as appropriate, with 
health care organizations, health care providers, 
public and private sector entities, patient safety or-
ganizations, health care consumers, and other rel-
evant experts to improve patient safety.
‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION AND RECERTIFICATION PROC-
ESS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The initial certification and 
recertification of a patient safety organization under 
subsection (b)(1)(A) shall be made under a process 
that is approved by the Secretary and is consistent 
with criteria published by the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) REVOCATION.—Such a certification or re-
certification may be revoked by the Secretary upon 
a showing of cause (including the disclosure of data 
in violation of section 1182). 
‘‘(3) TERMINATION.—Such a certification pro-
vided for a patient safety organization shall termi-
nate (subject to recertification) on the earlier of—
‘‘(A) the date that is 3 years after the date 
on which such certification was provided; or 
‘‘(B) the date on which the Secretary re-
vokes the certification. 
‘‘(d) IMPLEMENTATION
AND
CONSULTATION.—In 
carrying out subsection (c)(1), the Secretary shall—
‘‘(1) facilitate the development of patient safety 
goals and track the progress made in meeting those 
goals; and 
‘‘(2) ensure that data submitted by a patient 
safety organization to the Patient Safety Database,
as provided for under subsection (e), are comparable 
and useful for research and analysis and that the re-
search findings and patient safety alerts that result 
from such analyses are presented in clear and con-
sistent formats that enhance the usefulness of such 
alerts. 
‘‘(e) PATIENT SAFETY DATABASE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) establish a Patient Safety Database 
to collect non-identifiable information con-
cerning patient safety that is reported on a vol-
untary basis; and 
‘‘(B) establish common formats for the vol-
untary reporting of data under subparagraph 
(A), including the establishment of necessary 
data elements, common and consistent defini-
tions, and a standardized computer interface 
for the processing of such data. 
‘‘(2) DATABASE.—In carrying out this sub-
section, the Secretary— 
‘‘(A) shall establish and modify as nec-
essary criteria to determine the organizations 
that may voluntarily contribute to, and the data 
that comprises, the Patient Safety Database;
‘‘(B) shall ensure that the Patient Safety 
Database is only used by qualified entities or 
individuals as determined appropriate by the 
Secretary in accordance with criteria applied by 
the Secretary; and 
‘‘(C) may enter into contracts for the ad-
ministration of the Database with private and 
public entities with experience in the adminis-
tration of similar databases. 
‘‘(3) NON-IDENTIFIABLE
INFORMATION.—For 
purposes of this part, the term ‘non-identifiable in-
formation’ means information that is presented in a 
form and manner that prevents the identification of 
any health care provider, patient, and the reporter 
of the information. 
‘‘(f) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall transfer from 
the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund established 
under section 1817 such sums as are necessary for each 
fiscal year to carry out this section. 
‘‘INTEROPERABILITY STANDARDS FOR HEALTH CARE 
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS 
‘‘SEC. 1184. (a) IN GENERAL.—By not later than 2 
years after the date of the enactment of this part, the Sec-
retary shall develop or adopt (and shall periodically review 
and update) voluntary, national standards that promote 
the interoperability of health care information technology
systems across all health care settings. In promulgating 
regulations to carry out this section, the Secretary shall 
take into account the cost that meeting such standards 
would have on providing health care in the United States 
and the increased efficiencies in providing such care 
achieved under the standards. 
‘‘(b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The Sec-
retary shall develop and update such standards in con-
sultation with (and with coordination between)—
‘‘(1) the National Committee for Vital and 
Health Statistics, and 
‘‘(2) the Medical Information Technology Advi-
sory Board (established under section 3 of the Pa-
tient Safety Improvement Act of 2003). 
‘‘(c) DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary shall provide 
for the dissemination of the standards developed and up-
dated under this section. 
‘‘(d) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall transfer from 
the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund established 
under section 1817 such sums as are necessary for each 
fiscal year to carry out this section. 
‘‘VOLUNTARY ADOPTION OF METHODS TO IMPROVE 
PATIENT SAFETY 
‘‘SEC. 1185. The Secretary shall encourage health 
care providers to adopt appropriate evidence-based meth-
ods to improve patient safety. Such methods shall not con-
stitute national practice guidelines. 
‘‘EVALUATION AND REPORT 
‘‘SEC. 1186. (a) EVALUATION.—The Comptroller 
General of the United States shall conduct a comprehen-
sive evaluation of the implementation of this part. Such 
evaluation shall include an examination of the following: 
‘‘(1) The health care providers that reported 
patient safety data under this part and the patient 
safety organizations to which they reported the in-
formation. 
‘‘(2) What types of events were so reported on. 
‘‘(3) The usefulness of the analyses, informa-
tion, and recommendations provided by patient safe-
ty organizations in response to such reported infor-
mation. 
‘‘(4) The response of health care providers to 
such analyses, information, and recommendations, 
including a survey of providers to obtain estimates 
of the percentage of providers by category who have 
adopted specific error-reduction methods and, if ap-
plicable, reasons for not adopting specific practices. 
‘‘(5) The effectiveness of the program under 
this part in reducing medical errors. 
‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the date 
the provisions of this part are first implemented, the
Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report on 
the evaluation conducted under subsection (a).’’. 
SEC. 3. MEDICAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY 
BOARD. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 3 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services (in this sec-
tion referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall appoint an 
advisory board to be known as the ‘‘Medical Infor-
mation Technology Advisory Board’’ (in this section 
referred to as the ‘‘MITAB’’). 
(2) CHAIRMAN.—The Secretary shall designate 
one member as chairman. The chairman shall be an 
individual affiliated with an organization having ex-
pertise creating American National Standards Insti-
tute (ANSI) accepted standards in health care infor-
mation technology and a member of the National 
Committee for Vital and Health Statistics. 
(b) COMPOSITION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The MITAB shall consist of 
not more than 17 members that include—
(A) experts from the fields of medical in-
formation, information technology, medical con-
tinuous quality improvement, medical records
security and privacy, individual and institu-
tional health care clinical providers, health re-
searchers, and health care purchasers; 
(B) one or more staff experts from each of 
the following: the Centers for Medicare & Med-
icaid Services, the Agency for Healthcare Re-
search and Quality, and the Institute of Medi-
cine of the National Academy of Sciences; 
(C) representatives of private organizations 
with expertise in medical infomatics; 
(D) a representative of a teaching hospital; 
and 
(E) one or more representatives of the 
health care information technology industry. 
(2) TERMS
OF
APPOINTMENT.—The term of 
any appointment under paragraph (1) to the 
MITAB shall be for the life of the MITAB.
(3) MEETINGS.—The MITAB shall meet at the 
call of its chairman or a majority of its members. 
(4) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the MITAB 
shall be filled in the same manner in which the origi-
nal appointment was made not later than 30 days 
after the MITAB is given notice of the vacancy and 
shall not affect the power of the remaining members 
to execute the duties of the MITAB.
(5) COMPENSATION.—Members of the MITAB 
shall receive no additional pay, allowances, or bene-
fits by reason of their service on the MITAB. 
(6) EXPENSES.—Each member of the MITAB 
shall receive travel expenses and per diem in lieu of 
subsistence in accordance with sections 5702 and 
5703 of title 5, United States Code. 
(c) DUTIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The MITAB shall on an on-
going basis advise, and make recommendations to, 
the Secretary regarding medical information tech-
nology, including the following: 
(A) The best current practices in medical 
information technology. 
(B) Methods for the adoption (not later 
than 2 years after the date of the enactment of 
this section) of a uniform health care informa-
tion system interface between and among old 
and new computer systems. 
(C) Recommendations for health care vo-
cabulary, messaging, and other technology 
standards (including a common lexicon for com-
puter technology) necessary to achieve the 
interoperability of health care information sys-
tems for the purposes described in subpara-
graph (E). 
(D) Methods of implementing—
(i) health care information technology 
interoperability standardization; and 
(ii) records security. 
(E) Methods to promote information ex-
change among health care providers so that 
long-term compatibility among information sys-
tems is maximized, in order to do one or more 
of the following: 
(i) To maximize positive outcomes in 
clinical care—
(I) by providing decision support 
for diagnosis and care; and 
(II) by assisting in the emer-
gency treatment of a patient pre-
senting at a facility where there is no 
medical record for the patient. 
(ii) To contribute to (and be con-
sistent with) the development of the pa-
tient assessment instrument provided for 
under section 545 of the Medicare, Med-
icaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement 
and Protection Act of 2000, and to assist
in minimizing the need for new and dif-
ferent records as patients move from pro-
vider to provider. 
(iii) To reduce or eliminate the need 
for redundant records, paperwork, and the 
repetitive taking of patient histories and 
administering of tests. 
(iv) To minimize medical errors, such 
as administration of contraindicated drugs. 
(v) To provide a compatible informa-
tion technology architecture that facilitates 
future quality and cost-saving needs and 
that avoids the financing and development 
of information technology systems that are 
not readily compatible. 
(2) REPORTS.—
(A) INITIAL REPORT.—No later than 18 
months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the MITAB shall submit to Congress and 
the Secretary an initial report concerning the 
matters described in paragraph (1). The report 
shall include—
(i) the practices described in para-
graph (1)(A), including the status of 
health care information technology stand-
ards being developed by private sector and 
public-private groups; 
(ii) recommendations for accelerating 
the development of common health care 
terminology standards; 
(iii) recommendations for completing 
development of health care information 
system messaging standards; and 
(iv) progress toward meeting the 
deadline described in paragraph (1)(B) for 
adoption of methods described in such 
paragraph. 
(B) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—During each 
of the 2 years after the year in which the report 
is submitted under subparagraph (A), the 
MITAB shall submit to Congress and the Sec-
retary an annual report relating to additional 
recommendations, best practices, results of in-
formation technology improvements, analyses of 
private sector efforts to implement the inter-
operability standards established in section 
1184 of the Social Security Act, and such other 
matters as may help ensure the most rapid dis-
semination of best practices in health care in-
formation technology.
(d) STAFF AND SUPPORT SERVICES.—
(1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—
(A) APPOINTMENT.—The Chairman shall 
appoint an executive director of the MITAB. 
(B) COMPENSATION.—The executive direc-
tor shall be paid the rate of basic pay for level 
V of the Executive Schedule. 
(2) STAFF.—With the approval of the MITAB, 
the executive director may appoint such personnel as 
the executive director considers appropriate. 
(3) APPLICABILITY OF CIVIL SERVICE LAWS.—
The staff of the MITAB shall be appointed without 
regard to the provisions of title 5, United States 
Code, governing appointments in the competitive 
service, and shall be paid without regard to the pro-
visions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 
53 of such title (relating to classification and Gen-
eral Schedule pay rates). 
(4) EXPERTS
AND
CONSULTANTS.—With the 
approval of the MITAB, the executive director may 
procure temporary and intermittent services under 
section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code. 
(e) POWERS.—
(1) HEARINGS
AND
OTHER
ACTIVITIES.—For 
the purpose of carrying out its duties, the MITAB
may hold such hearings and undertake such other 
activities as the MITAB determines to be necessary 
to carry out its duties. 
(2) DETAIL OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Upon 
the request of the MITAB, the head of any Federal 
agency is authorized to detail, without reimburse-
ment, any of the personnel of such agency to the 
MITAB to assist the MITAB in carrying out its du-
ties. Any such detail shall not interrupt or otherwise 
affect the civil service status or privileges of the 
Federal employee. 
(3) TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE.—Upon the re-
quest of the MITAB, the head of a Federal agency 
shall provide such technical assistance to the 
MITAB as the MITAB determines to be necessary 
to carry out its duties. 
(4) OBTAINING
INFORMATION.—The MITAB 
may secure directly from any Federal agency infor-
mation necessary to enable it to carry out its duties, 
if the information may be disclosed under section 
552 of title 5, United States Code. Upon request of 
the Chairman of the MITAB, the head of such agen-
cy shall furnish such information to the MITAB.
(f) TERMINATION.—The MITAB shall terminate 30 
days after the date of submission of its final report under 
subsection (c)(2)(B). 
(g) APPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The provisions of the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall 
apply to the MITAB. 
(h) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall transfer from the 
Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund established under 
section 1817 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395i) 
such sums as are necessary for each fiscal year to carry 
out this section.
Æ