42 USC 299 - Mission and duties

Collapse to view only § 299. Mission and duties

§ 299. Mission and duties
§ 299a. General authorities
§ 299a-1. Research on health disparities

§ 299. Mission and duties

(a) In general

(b) MissionThe purpose of the Agency is to enhance the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of health services, and access to such services, through the establishment of a broad base of scientific research and through the promotion of improvements in clinical and health system practices, including the prevention of diseases and other health conditions. The Agency shall promote health care quality improvement by conducting and supporting—

(1) research that develops and presents scientific evidence regarding all aspects of health care, including—

(A) the development and assessment of methods for enhancing patient participation in their own care and for facilitating shared patient-physician decision-making;

(B) the outcomes, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of health care practices, including preventive measures and long-term care;

(D) the costs and utilization of, and access to health care;

(E) the ways in which health care services are organized, delivered, and financed and the interaction and impact of these factors on the quality of patient care;

(F) methods for measuring quality and strategies for improving quality; and

(G) ways in which patients, consumers, purchasers, and practitioners acquire new information about best practices and health benefits, the determinants and impact of their use of this information;

(2) the synthesis and dissemination of available scientific evidence for use by patients, consumers, practitioners, providers, purchasers, policy makers, and educators; and

(3) initiatives to advance private and public efforts to improve health care quality.

(1) Research, evaluations and demonstration projectsIn carrying out this subchapter, the Director shall conduct and support research and evaluations, and support demonstration projects, with respect to—

(A) the delivery of health care in inner-city areas, and in rural areas (including frontier areas); and

(B) health care for priority populations, which shall include—

(i) low-income groups;

(ii) minority groups;

(iii) women;

(iv) children;

(v) the elderly; and

(vi) individuals with special health care needs, including individuals with disabilities and individuals who need chronic care or end-of-life health care.

(2) Process to ensure appropriate research

(3) Office of Priority Populations

(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title IX, § 901, as added Pub. L. 106–129, § 2(a), Dec. 6, 1999, 113 Stat. 1653.)

§ 299a. General authorities

(a) In general

In carrying out section 299(b) of this title, the Director shall conduct and support research, evaluations, and training, support demonstration projects, research networks, and multidisciplinary centers, provide technical assistance, and disseminate information on health care and on systems for the delivery of such care, including activities with respect to—

(1) the quality, effectiveness, efficiency, appropriateness and value of health care services;

(2) quality measurement and improvement;

(3) the outcomes, cost, cost-effectiveness, and use of health care services and access to such services;

(4) clinical practice, including primary care and practice-oriented research;

(5) health care technologies, facilities, and equipment;

(6) health care costs, productivity, organization, and market forces;

(7) health promotion and disease prevention, including clinical preventive services;

(8) health statistics, surveys, database development, and epidemiology; and

(9) medical liability.

(b) Health services training grants

(1) In general

(2) Requirements

(d) Relation to certain authorities regarding social security

(e) Disclaimer

(f) Rule of construction

(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title IX, § 902, as added Pub. L. 106–129, § 2(a), Dec. 6, 1999, 113 Stat. 1654; amended Pub. L. 106–525, title II, § 201(a)(1), Nov. 22, 2000, 114 Stat. 2505.)

§ 299a–1. Research on health disparities

(a) In general

The Director shall—

(1) conduct and support research to identify populations for which there is a significant disparity in the quality, outcomes, cost, or use of health care services or access to and satisfaction with such services, as compared to the general population;

(2) conduct and support research on the causes of and barriers to reducing the health disparities identified in paragraph (1), taking into account such factors as socioeconomic status, attitudes toward health, the language spoken, the extent of formal education, the area or community in which the population resides, and other factors the Director determines to be appropriate;

(3) conduct and support research and support demonstration projects to identify, test, and evaluate strategies for reducing or eliminating health disparities, including development or identification of effective service delivery models, and disseminate effective strategies and models;

(4) develop measures and tools for the assessment and improvement of the outcomes, quality, and appropriateness of health care services provided to health disparity populations;

(5) in carrying out section 299a(c) of this title, provide support to increase the number of researchers who are members of health disparity populations, and the health services research capacity of institutions that train such researchers; and

(6) beginning with fiscal year 2003, annually submit to the Congress a report regarding prevailing disparities in health care delivery as it relates to racial factors and socioeconomic factors in priority populations.

(b) Research and demonstration projects

(1) In general

In carrying out subsection (a), the Director shall conduct and support research and support demonstrations to—

(A) identify the clinical, cultural, socioeconomic, geographic, and organizational factors that contribute to health disparities, including minority health disparity populations, which research shall include behavioral research, such as examination of patterns of clinical decisionmaking, and research on access, outreach, and the availability of related support services (such as cultural and linguistic services);

(B) identify and evaluate clinical and organizational strategies to improve the quality, outcomes, and access to care for health disparity populations, including minority health disparity populations;

(C) test such strategies and widely disseminate those strategies for which there is scientific evidence of effectiveness; and

(D) determine the most effective approaches for disseminating research findings to health disparity populations, including minority populations.

(2) Use of certain strategies

In carrying out this section, the Director shall implement research strategies and mechanisms that will enhance the involvement of individuals who are members of minority health disparity populations or other health disparity populations, health services researchers who are such individuals, institutions that train such individuals as researchers, members of minority health disparity populations or other health disparity populations for whom the Agency is attempting to improve the quality and outcomes of care, and representatives of appropriate tribal or other community-based organizations with respect to health disparity populations. Such research strategies and mechanisms may include the use of—

(A) centers of excellence that can demonstrate, either individually or through consortia, a combination of multi-disciplinary expertise in outcomes or quality improvement research, linkages to relevant sites of care, and a demonstrated capacity to involve members and communities of health disparity populations, including minority health disparity populations, in the planning, conduct, dissemination, and translation of research;

(B) provider-based research networks, including health plans, facilities, or delivery system sites of care (especially primary care), that make extensive use of health care providers who are members of health disparity populations or who serve patients in such populations and have the capacity to evaluate and promote quality improvement;

(C) service delivery models (such as health centers under section 254b of this title and the Indian Health Service) to reduce health disparities; and

(D) innovative mechanisms or strategies that will facilitate the translation of past research investments into clinical practices that can reasonably be expected to benefit these populations.

(1) In general

(2) Examination of certain practices

(3) Report

(d) Definition

For purposes of this section:

(1) The term “health disparity population” has the meaning given such term in section 285t of this title, except that in addition to the meaning so given, the Director may determine that such term includes populations for which there is a significant disparity in the quality, outcomes, cost, or use of health care services or access to or satisfaction with such services as compared to the general population.

(2) The term “minority”, with respect to populations, refers to racial and ethnic minority groups as defined in section 300u–6 of this title.

(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title IX, § 903, as added Pub. L. 106–525, title II, § 201(a)(2), Nov. 22, 2000, 114 Stat. 2505; amended Pub. L. 111–148, title X, § 10334(c)(3)(B), Mar. 23, 2010, 124 Stat. 974.)