Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 124.djvu/534

 124 STAT. 508 PUBLIC LAW 111–148—MAR. 23, 2010 ‘‘Subpart II—Health Care Quality Improvement Programs ‘‘SEC. 933. HEALTH CARE DELIVERY SYSTEM RESEARCH. ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this section are to— ‘‘(1) enable the Director to identify, develop, evaluate, disseminate, and provide training in innovative methodologies and strategies for quality improvement practices in the delivery of health care services that represent best practices (referred to as ‘best practices’) in health care quality, safety, and value; and ‘‘(2) ensure that the Director is accountable for imple- menting a model to pursue such research in a collaborative manner with other related Federal agencies. ‘‘(b) GENERAL FUNCTIONS OF THE CENTER.—The Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (referred to in this section as the ‘Center’), or any other relevant agency or department designated by the Director, shall— ‘‘(1) carry out its functions using research from a variety of disciplines, which may include epidemiology, health services, sociology, psychology, human factors engineering, biostatistics, health economics, clinical research, and health informatics; ‘‘(2) conduct or support activities consistent with the pur- poses described in subsection (a), and for— ‘‘(A) best practices for quality improvement practices in the delivery of health care services; and ‘‘(B) that include changes in processes of care and the redesign of systems used by providers that will reliably result in intended health outcomes, improve patient safety, and reduce medical errors (such as skill development for health care providers in team-based health care delivery and rapid cycle process improvement) and facilitate adop- tion of improved workflow; ‘‘(3) identify health care providers, including health care systems, single institutions, and individual providers, that— ‘‘(A) deliver consistently high-quality, efficient health care services (as determined by the Secretary); and ‘‘(B) employ best practices that are adaptable and scal- able to diverse health care settings or effective in improving care across diverse settings; ‘‘(4) assess research, evidence, and knowledge about what strategies and methodologies are most effective in improving health care delivery; ‘‘(5) find ways to translate such information rapidly and effectively into practice, and document the sustainability of those improvements; ‘‘(6) create strategies for quality improvement through the development of tools, methodologies, and interventions that can successfully reduce variations in the delivery of health care; ‘‘(7) identify, measure, and improve organizational, human, or other causative factors, including those related to the culture and system design of a health care organization, that contribute to the success and sustainability of specific quality improvement and patient safety strategies; 42 USC 299b–33.