42 U.S.C. § 299c–3 — Dissemination of information

(a) In general The Director must quickly publish, make available, and otherwise share — in an understandable form and as broadly as practical, to get maximum use — the results of research, demonstration projects, and evaluations done under this subchapter, without needing prior approval under the usual federal publications-clearance rule in section 501 of title 44. The Director must make sure information the Agency shares is science-based and objective, and must consult as needed to check whether information aimed at specific audiences is presented appropriately and usefully. The Director must promptly make public the underlying data from this research. Working with the National Library of Medicine where appropriate, the Director must provide indexing, abstracting, translating, publishing, and similar services to spread this information effectively to public and private groups and individuals involved in improving health care, and to the general public, and must develop new or better ways to make the information available. Where appropriate, the Director must also give technical assistance to state and local government and health agencies and stay in contact with them to help spread this information. (b) Prohibition against restrictions Except as subsection (c) allows, the Director cannot restrict the publication or sharing of data, or of results, from projects funded or supported under this subchapter. (c) Limitation on use of certain information If information identifies the specific person or organization that supplied it, that information can't be used for any purpose other than the one it was collected for — unless that person or organization consents, under rules the Director sets. The same limit applies to publishing or releasing the information in any other form: it can't be released if the person or organization it identifies is recognizable, unless they've consented to that release. (d) Penalty Anyone who violates subsection (c) can be fined a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation, imposed and collected the same way as civil money penalties under section 1320a–7a of this title.