Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 123.djvu/265

 123STA T . 2 45PUBLIC LA W 111 – 5 —FE B.1 7, 2 0 0 9PublicHea l thS e rv ice A ct , a s a d ded b y secti on13 1 0 1, w ith res p ect to the develop m ent o f standards and implementation specifications under such section, the D irector of the N ational I nstitute of Stand - ards and T echnolo g y shall support the establishment of a conform- ance testing infrastructure, including the development of technical test beds . The development of this conformance testing infrastruc- ture may include a program to accredit independent, non- F ederal laboratories to perform testing. SEC.1320 2. R ESE A RC H A ND DE V E LOPM EN T PRO G RAMS. ( a ) H EALTHC A R EI NFO R M AT I ON E NTER P RI S E INTE G RATION R ESEAR C H CENTERS. — (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, in consultation with the Director of the National Science Foundation and other appropriate Fed- eral agencies, shall establish a program of assistance to institu- tions of higher education (or consortia thereof which may include nonprofit entities and Federal G overnment laboratories) to establish multidisciplinary Centers for Health Care Informa- tion Enterprise Integration. ( 2 )RE V IE W; COMPETITION.—Grants shall be awarded under this subsection on a merit-reviewed, competitive basis. (3) P U RPOSE.—The purposes of the Centers described in paragraph (1) shall be— (A) to generate innovative approaches to health care information enterprise integration by conducting cutting- edge, multidisciplinary research on the systems challenges to health care delivery; and ( B ) the development and use of health information technologies and other complementary fields. ( 4 ) RESEARCH AREAS.—Research areas may include— (A) interfaces between human information and commu- nications technology systems; (B) voice-recognition systems; (C) software that improves interoperability and connectivity among health information systems; (D) software dependability in systems critical to health care delivery; (E) measurement of the impact of information tech- nologies on the q uality and productivity of health care; (F) health information enterprise management; (G) health information technology security and integ- rity; and (H) relevant health information technology to reduce medical errors. ( 5 ) APPLICATIONS.—An institution of higher education (or a consortium thereof) see k ing funding under this subsection shall submit an application to the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Director may require. The application shall include, at a minimum, a descrip- tion of— (A) the research pro j ects that will be undertaken by the Center established pursuant to assistance under para- graph (1) and the respective contributions of the partici- pating entities; Grants.E sta bli s hme nt. 42USC179 12.