42 U.S.C. § 285d–5 — Arthritis and musculoskeletal diseases demonstration projects

(a) Grants for establishment and support: The Director^* of the Institute may give grants to public and private nonprofit groups to set up projects that develop and demonstrate methods for screening, detecting, and referring people for arthritis and musculoskeletal disease treatment^*, and for sharing information on these methods with health professionals. These projects must be coordinated with federal, state^*, local, and regional health agencies, with centers funded under section 285d–6, and with the data system described in subsection (c).

(b) Programs included: Funded projects must include:
(1) programs developing and demonstrating new, better ways to screen, detect early, refer, and diagnose people at risk;
(2) programs developing and demonstrating better ways to refer patients from local hospitals and doctors to specialized centers for early diagnosis and treatment;
(3) programs developing better, standardized ways to record and manage patient data;
(4) programs developing better ways to share knowledge about the methods in paragraphs (1) through (3) with health professionals;
(5) programs developing better ways to share information with the general public — (A) about the importance of early detection, prompt treatment, and following the right treatment plan, and (B) to discourage unapproved, ineffective diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and control methods, and unapproved, ineffective drugs and devices; and
(6) projects investigating the epidemiology of arthritis and musculoskeletal diseases in all its forms, including social, environmental, behavioral, nutritional, and genetic factors.

(c) Standardization of patient data and recordkeeping: The Director must standardize how patient data is collected, stored, analyzed, retrieved, and shared, working with the projects funded here, the centers funded under section 285d–6, and others working on arthritis and musculoskeletal disease programs.