,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #ejjb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #aj1 #bjbj,mr4 ,van ,hollen introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to improve the quality1 appropriateness1 and effectiveness of diagnosis in health care1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,improving ,diagnosis in ,medicine ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,research centers of diagnostic excellence 7a7 ,in general ,section #iab of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bii;b-#a7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7c71 by inserting after part ,c the following3 and subsection 7d72 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7d7 ,research ,centers of ,diagnostic ,excellence 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,director shall award grants for the establishment and maintenance of centers1 to be known as ,research ,centers of ,diagnostic ,excellence1 that advance research and progress in diagnostic quality1 safety1 and value in clinical care and population health through implementing the activities specified in paragraph 7#c74 7#b7 ,considerations ,in awarding grants under paragraph 7#a71 the ,director shall take into consideration-- 7,a7 the level of development within the field of research on improving diagnosis in health care2 and 7,b7 the need to plan and establish new ,research ,centers of ,diagnostic ,excellence4 7#c7 ,activities 7,a7 ,required activities ,each ,research ,center of ,diagnostic ,excellence receiving funds pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 shall use such funds to-- 7i7 serve as an interdisciplinary core diagnostic research hub for conducting diagnostic safety and quality research2 7ii7 support research and public health initiatives on improving diagnosis in medicine2 and 7iii7 foster high-impact research on novel solutions to improve diagnosis that will significantly reduce patient harm4 7,b7 ,permissible activities ,in addition to the required activities listed in subparagraph 7,a71 each ,research ,center of ,diagnostic ,excellence receiving funds pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 may use such funds to-- 7i7 build capacity by cultivating1 training1 and developing a highly qualified diagnostic research workforce2 7ii7 develop and validate operationally viable measures of diagnostic error to assess which approaches are effective for monitoring the diagnosis process of identifying1 analyzing1 and reducing diagnostic errors2 and 7iii7 utilize strategic partnerships that capitalize on the capabilities of both academic research institutions and non-academic health care1 public health1 science1 and technology stakeholders4 4 #c4 ,interagency ,council on ,improving ,diagnosis in ,health ,care 7a7 ,establishment ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services 7in this section referred to as the ,secretary7 shall establish within the ,office of the ,secretary an interagency council to be known as the ,interagency ,council on ,improving ,diagnosis in ,health ,care 7in this section referred to as the ,council74 7b7 ,objectives ,the objectives of the ,council shall be the following3 7#a7 ,enhance the quality1 appropriateness1 and effectiveness of diagnosis in health care through-- 7,a7 the establishment and support of a broad base of scientific research2 7,b7 the dissemination and implementation of the results of such research2 and 7,c7 the promotion of improvements in clinical and health system practices4 7#b7 ,identify and eliminate systemic barriers to supporting research in improving diagnosis in health care4 7#c7 ,identify knowledge gaps1 research needs1 and deficiencies in clinical and health system delivery1 associated with the diagnostic process1 with an emphasis on clarifying needs across the diagnostic research continuum4 7#d7 ,create core diagnostic research services and interdisciplinary teams to facilitate diagnostic research4 7#e7 ,build capacity by training and developing a highly qualified diagnostic research workforce4 7#f7 ,establish valid operational measures of diagnostic error4 7c7 ,membership 7#a7 ,chairperson ,the ,director of the ,agency for ,healthcare ,research and ,quality 7or the ,director's designee7 shall be the ,chairperson of the ,council4 7#b7 ,members 7,a7 ,in general ,in addition to the ,chairperson1 the ,council shall be comprised of the following3 7i7 ,at least #a designee from each of the following1 appointed by the head of the applicable department or agency3 7,i7 ,the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention4 7,,ii7 ,the ,centers for ,medicare ,medicaid ,services4 7,,iii7 ,the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs4 7,,iv7 ,the ,congressionally ,directed ,medical ,research ,program of the ,department of ,defense4 7ii7 ,designees from the ,national ,institutes of ,health1 including a least #a designee from each of the following3 7,i7 ,the ,national ,cancer ,institute4 7,,ii7 ,the ,national ,center for ,advancing ,translational ,sciences4 7,,iii7 ,the ,national ,institute of ,allergy and ,infectious ,diseases4 7,,iv7 ,the ,national ,heart1 ,lung1 and ,blood ,institute4 7,v7 ,the ,national ,institute of ,neurological ,disorders and ,stroke4 7,,vi7 ,the ,national ,library of ,medicine4 7iii7 ,designees from such other national research institutes and national centers as may be appropriate1 as determined by the ,director of the ,national ,institutes of ,health4 7,b7 ,additional members ,in addition to the designees under subparagraph 7,a71 the ,council may include such other designees from ,federal departments or agencies as the ,chairperson of the ,council deems appropriate4 7,c7 ,designation ,a person appointed to the ,council as a designee shall be a senior official or employee of the department or agency whose responsibilities and subject matter expertise are relevant to the ,council's objectives listed in subsection 7b71 as determined by the designating official4 7d7 ,strategic plan2 reports 7#a7 ,strategic ,federal ,plan to ,improve ,diagnosis in ,health ,care ,not later than #ah months after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,council shall develop1 submit to the ,secretary and ,congress1 and make publicly available a strategic plan1 to be known as the ,strategic ,federal ,plan to ,improve ,diagnosis1 that1 consistent with the objectives listed in subsection 7b7-- 7,a7 identifies coordinated opportunities to enhance scientific research and reduce systemic barriers in order to improve diagnosis in health care2 and 7,b7 includes legislative and administrative policy recommendations4 7#b7 ,reports to ,congress ,not later than ,july #ca of every odd-numbered year beginning with the first such year after the date of submission of the first ,strategic ,federal ,plan to ,improve ,diagnosis under paragraph 7#a71 the ,council shall prepare1 submit to the ,secretary and ,congress1 and make publicly available an updated ,strategic ,federal ,plan to ,improve ,diagnosis that includes-- 7,a7 such updates as the ,council determines to be appropriate2 7,b7 information on the overall progress of the ,federal ,government in reducing barriers to research on1 and supporting projects to improve1 diagnosis in health care2 and 7,c7 legislative and administrative policy recommendations1 including addressing any needs for greater legislative authority to meet the objectives listed in subsection 7b74 #d4 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this ,act 7including the amendments made by this ,act7 #h1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjba through #bjbe1 to remain available until expended4