In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ''Prescription Drug Comparative
Effectiveness Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. RESEARCH AND STUDY ON EFFECTIVENESS OF CERTAIN PRESCRIPTION
DRUGS.

(a) In General.--
(1) Research.--The Director of the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality, in consultation with the Director of the
National Institutes of Health, shall conduct or support
research, which may include clinical research, to develop valid
scientific evidence regarding comparative clinical
effectiveness, outcomes, and appropriateness of prescription
drugs, medical devices, and procedures. In conducting or
supporting such research, particular consideration shall be
given to treatments that involve high volume, high cost, or
high risk to patients.
(2) Systematic reviews.--
(A) In general.--The Director of the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality shall conduct or
support systematic reviews of existing evidence
regarding comparative clinical effectiveness, outcomes,
and appropriateness of prescription drugs, medical
devices, and procedures. In conducting or supporting
such reviews, particular consideration shall be given
to treatments that involve high volume, high cost, or
high risk to patients.
(B) Better clinician and patient information on
safety.--Within 12 months of the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, in consultation with the Director of the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the
Commissioner of Food and Drugs, and the Director of the
National Institutes of Health, shall develop a
coordinated plan for research on the most appropriate
methods for measuring and comparing adverse events
associated with pharmaceuticals and other medical and
surgical treatments so that clinicians and patients can
evaluate the comparative safety as well as the
comparative clinical effectiveness of the alternative
treatment options.
(b) Annual Report.--Each year the Director of the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality shall prepare a report on the results
of the research, studies, and analyses conducted under this section and
submit the report to the following:
(1) The Congress.
(2) The Secretary of Defense.
(3) The Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(4) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
(5) The Administrator of the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services.
(6) The Director of the Indian Health Service.
(7) The Director of the National Institutes of Health.
(8) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management.
(c) Reports for Practitioners.--As soon as possible, but not later
than a year after the completion of any systemic review conducted
pursuant to subsection (a)(2), the Director of the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality shall--
(1) prepare a report on the results of such systemic review
for the purpose of informing health care practitioners; and
(2) identify treatment options for which comparative
clinical effectiveness judgments could not be reached due to
insufficient evidence and make such identifications available
to the Director of the National Institutes of Health and other
entities funding research.
(d) Information for Patients.--The Director of the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality shall create a version of each report
prepared for practitioners under subsection (c)(1) in a form that is
easily understood by the individuals receiving the treatments involved.
(e) Availability.--The Director of the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality--
(1) shall publish on the Agency's Internet site, and
through other means that will facilitate access by
practitioners, each report prepared under subsection (b), (c),
or (d); and
(2) make the information in such reports available to the
public through easily accessible and searchable electronic
mechanisms, and in hard copy formats as appropriate.
(f) Accountability.--In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary
of Health and Human Services shall implement activities in a manner
that makes publicly available all scientific evidence relied upon and
the methodologies employed, provided such evidence and method are not
protected from public disclosure by section 1905 of title 18, United
States Code, or other applicable law, so that the results of the
research, analyses, or syntheses involved can be evaluated and
replicated.
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section,
there are authorized to be appropriated to the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality and the National Institutes of Health $100,000,000
for fiscal year 2007 and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year
2008 and each subsequent fiscal year.
Prescription Drug Comparative Effectiveness Act of 2006 - Requires the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to conduct or support reviews of existing evidence and research to develop evidence regarding comparative clinical effectiveness, outcomes, and appropriateness of prescription drugs, medical devices, and procedures.

Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a coordinated plan for research on methods for measuring and comparing adverse events associated with pharmaceuticals and other medical and surgical treatments so that clinicians and patients can evaluate the comparative safety and clinical effectiveness of the alternative treatment options.

Provides for information developed from such reviews to be made available to practitioners and patients.