42 U.S.C. § 299b–5 — Health care practice and technology innovation

(a) In general. The Director must promote innovation in evidence-based health care practices and technologies by: (1) Researching how health care technology is developed, spreads, and gets used. (2) Developing, testing, and sharing methods for assessing health care practices and technologies. (3) Doing in-house assessments and funding outside assessments of both existing and new health care practices and technologies. (4) Supporting education, training, and technical help on how to use these assessment methods and their results. (5) Working with the National Library of Medicine and public and private groups to build an electronic clearinghouse of assessments — finished and in progress. (b) Specification of process (1) In general. By December 31, 2000, the Director must publish a description of the methods the Agency and its contractors use to assess health care practices and technology. (2) Consultations. In doing this, the Director must work with the Assistant Secretary for Health, the head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Director of the National Institutes of Health, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, and other interested federal agencies, and seek input from professional societies and other private and public groups where appropriate. (3) Methodology. In building these methods, the Director must consider: (A) Safety, efficacy, and effectiveness. (B) Legal, social, and ethical effects. (C) Costs, benefits, and cost-effectiveness. (D) Comparisons to alternative practices and technologies. (E) What FDA approval already requires, to avoid duplicating work. (c) Specific assessments (1) In general. The Director must conduct or support specific assessments of health care technologies and practices. (2) Requests for assessments. The Director may do paid assessments for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Office of Personnel Management, and other public or private groups. (3) Grants and contracts. Besides doing assessments directly, the Director may give grants or make agreements or contracts with eligible entities to assess experimental, emerging, existing, or outdated health care technologies, and for related work. (4) Eligible entities. An eligible entity is any group the Director decides is appropriate — academic medical centers, research institutions, professional organizations, third-party payers, government agencies, minority higher-education institutions (like Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic-serving institutions), and consortia of research groups formed to do technology assessments. (d) Medical examination of certain victims (1) In general. The Director must develop and share a report on evidence-based clinical practices for: (A) Examining and treating victims or attempted victims of sexual assault, including child molestation. (B) Training health professionals — working with the Health Resources and Services Administration — to do medical evidentiary exams for victims of child abuse or neglect, sexual assault, elder abuse, or domestic violence. (2) Certain considerations. In deciding what the report should cover, the Director must, as much as practical, consider the expertise of federal and state law enforcement officials who deal with these victims, and of other relevant public and private groups such as medical societies, victim services organizations, sexual assault prevention groups, and social services organizations.