(2) interoperable, to the maximum extent pos-
sible; and 
(3) inclusive of ongoing Federal efforts that pro-
vide technical expertise to harmonize existing stand-
ards and assist in the development of interoperability 
specifications. 
(b) ELEMENTS.—The guidelines and standards devel-
oped under subsection (a) shall— 
(1) promote the use by Federal agencies of com-
mercially available products that incorporate the 
guidelines and standards developed under subsection 
(a); 
(2) develop uniform testing procedures suitable 
for determining the conformance of commercially 
available and Federal healthcare information tech-
nology products with the guidelines and standards; 
(3) support and promote the testing of electronic 
healthcare information technologies utilized by Fed-
eral agencies; 
(4) provide protection and security profiles; 
(5) establish a core set of interoperability speci-
fications in transactions between Federal agencies 
and their transaction partners; and 
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(6) include validation criteria to enable Federal 
agencies to select healthcare information technologies 
appropriate to their needs. 
(c) REPORTS.—Not later than 18 months after the date 
of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Direc-
tor shall transmit to the Congress a report that includes 
a description and analysis of— 
(1) the level of interoperability and security of 
technologies for sharing healthcare information among 
Federal agencies; and 
(2) the problems Federal agencies are having 
with, and the progress such agencies are making to-
ward, ensuring interoperable and secure healthcare 
information systems and electronic healthcare records. 
SEC. 5. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS. 
(a) HEALTHCARE INFORMATION ENTERPRISE INTE-
GRATION RESEARCH CENTERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, in consulta-
tion the Director of the National Science Foundation 
and other appropriate Federal agencies, shall estab-
lish a program of assistance to institutions of higher 
education (or consortia thereof which may include 
nonprofit entities and Federal Government labora-
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tories) to establish multidisciplinary Centers for 
Healthcare Information Enterprise Integration. 
(2) REVIEW; COMPETITION.—Grants shall be 
awarded under this subsection on a merit-reviewed, 
competitive basis. 
(3) PURPOSE.—The purposes of the Centers shall 
be— 
(A) to generate innovative approaches to 
healthcare information enterprise integration by 
conducting cutting-edge, multidisciplinary re-
search on the systems challenges to healthcare de-
livery; and 
(B) the development and use of information 
technologies and other complementary fields. 
(4) RESEARCH AREAS.—Research areas may in-
clude— 
(A) the interfaces between human informa-
tion and communications technology systems; 
(B) voice-recognition systems; 
(C) software that improves interoperability 
and connectivity among systems; 
(D) software dependability in systems crit-
ical to healthcare delivery; 
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(E) measurement of the impact of informa-
tion technologies on the quality and productivity 
of healthcare; 
(F) healthcare information enterprise man-
agement; and 
(G) information technology security and in-
tegrity. 
(5) APPLICATIONS.—An institution of higher 
education (or a consortium thereof) seeking funding 
under this subsection shall submit an application to 
the Director at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Director may re-
quire. The application shall include, at a minimum, 
a description of— 
(A) the research projects that will be under-
taken by the Center and the respective contribu-
tions of the participating entities; 
(B) how the Center will promote active col-
laboration among scientists and engineers from 
different disciplines, such as information tech-
nology, biologic sciences, management, social 
sciences, and other appropriate disciplines; 
(C) technology transfer activities to dem-
onstrate and diffuse the research results, tech-
nologies, and knowledge; and 
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(D) how the Center will contribute to the 
education and training of researchers and other 
professionals in fields relevant to healthcare in-
formation enterprise integration. 
(b) NATIONAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH 
AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.—The National High-Per-
formance Computing Program established by section 101 of 
the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 
5511) shall coordinate Federal research and development 
programs related to the development and deployment of 
health information technology, including activities related 
to— 
(1) computer infrastructure; 
(2) data security; 
(3) development of large-scale, distributed, reli-
able computing systems; 
(4) wired, wireless, and hybrid high-speed net-
working; 
(5) development of software and software-inten-
sive systems; 
(6) human-computer interaction and informa-
tion management technologies; and 
(7) the social and economic implications of in-
formation technology. 
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(c) STRATEGIC
PLAN
FOR
HEALTHCARE
TECH-
NOLOGIES AND CLASSIFICATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, in consulta-
tion with the Director of the National Science Foun-
dation, not later than 90 days after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, shall establish a task force whose 
membership includes representatives of other Federal 
agencies and industry groups (such as the American 
Health Information Management Association and the 
American Medical Informatics Association) to develop 
a strategic plan including recommendations for— 
(A) the development, adoption, and mainte-
nance of terminologies and classifications; 
(B) gaining commitment of terminology 
and classification stakeholders (such as devel-
opers, end users, and other service and tech-
nology suppliers) to principles and guidelines for 
open and transparent processes to enable cost-ef-
fective interoperability and complete and accu-
rate information; 
(C) the design of a centralized authority or 
governance model, including principles for its 
operation and funding scenarios; 
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(D) United States participation in the 
International Health Terminology Standards 
Development Organization; and 
(E) any other issues identified by the task 
force. 
(2) TASK FORCE REPORT.—The task force shall 
report its findings and recommendations to the Com-
mittee on Science and Technology of the House of 
Representatives not later than 18 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act. The task force shall ter-
minate after transmitting such report. 
(3) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 
task force established under this subsection shall not 
be subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
U.S.C. App.). 
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Director 
of the National Institute of Standards and Technology for 
carrying out this Act $8,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 
2009 and 2010, to be derived from amounts authorized 
under section 3001 of Public Law 110–69. 
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Union Calendar No. 277 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 2406 
[Report No. 110–451] 
A BILL 
To authorize the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology to increase its efforts in support 
of the integration of the healthcare information 
enterprise in the United States. 
NOVEMBER 15, 2007 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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