Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 99 Part 1.djvu/680

 99 STAT. 658

PUBLIC LAW 99-145—NOV. 8, 1985 "(A) a reference to the Secretary in that section is deemed a reference to the Secretary of Defense; and "(B) a reference to a claimant in subsection (e) of that section is deemed a reference to the person described in paragraph (1). "(d) In this section: "(1) 'License'— "(A) means a grant of permission by an official agency of a State, the District of Columbia, or a Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States to provide health care independently as a health-care professional; and "(B) includes, in the case of such care furnished in a foreign country by any person who is not a national of the United States, a grant of permission by an official agency of that foreign country for that person to provide health care independently as a health-care professional. "(2) 'Health-care professional means a physician, dentist, clinical psychologist, or nurse and any other person providing direct patient care as may be designated by the Secretary of Defense in regulations.". (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new item: "1094. Licensure requirement for health-care professionals.".

10 USC 1094 note.

(b) TRANSITION.—Section 1094 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), does not apply during the three-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act with respect to the provision of health care by any person who on the date of the enactment of this Act is a member of the Armed Forces. SEC. 654. STUDY OF MEDICAL CASUALTY INVESTIGATIONS

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall study the procedures used by the military departments for medical casualty investigations relating to members of the Armed Forces who die or are seriously injured while on active duty. (b) SCOPE OF STUDY.—The study by the Secretary under subsection (a) shall include consideration of the following: (1) The need, and appropriate standards, for uniform policies of the military departments with respect to autopsies of members of the Armed Forces who die while on active duty, taking into account religious sensibilities of members and their families. (2) The need, and appropriate standards, for a policy of the Department of Defense with respect to independent review of autopsies, and other aspects of medical CEisualty investigations, conducted by the Armed Forces, including the appropriate role of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. (3) Appropriate policies and procedures for retaining, in safekeeping, all medical investigative materials (including photographs, specimens, slide and other records of any autopsy) and, to the extent not inconsistent with national security, making such materials available to survivors of members of the Armed Forces who die while on active duty. (4) The desirability of establishing an independent board of medical examination in the Department of Defense, to consist of five or more practitioners of medicine who are recognized experts in the investigation of causes of death, with the function

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