113 STAT. 1666 PUBLIC LAW 106-129—DEC. 6, 1999 under this section may continue in existence until otherwise provided by law. "(4) QUALIFICATIONS.— Members of any peer review group shall, at a minimum, meet the following requirements: "(A) Such members shall agree in writing to treat information received, pursuant to their work for the group, as confidential information, except that this subparagraph shall not apply to public records and public information. "(B) Such members shall agree in writing to recuse themselves from participation in the peer review of specific applications which present a potential personal conflict of interest or appearance of such conflict, including employ- ment in a directly affected organization, stock ownership, or any financial or other arrangement that might introduce bias in the process of peer review. "(d) AUTHORITY FOR PROCEDURAL ADJUSTMENTS IN CERTAIN CASES.— In the case of applications for financial assistance whose direct costs will not exceed $100,000, the Director may make appro- Eriate adjustments in the procedures otherwise established by the director for the conduct of peer review under this section. Such adjustments may be made for the purpose of encouraging the entry of individuals into the field of research, for the purpose of encouraging clinical practice-oriented or provider-based research, and for such other purposes as the Director may determine to be appropriate. "(e) REGULATIONS.—The Director shall issue regulations for the conduct of peer review under this section. 42 USE 299C-2. " SEC. 923. CERTAIN PROVISIONS WITH RESPECT TO DEVELOPMENT, COLLECTION, AND DISSEMINATION OF DATA. "(a) STANDARDS WITH RESPECT TO UTILITY OF DATA. — "(1) IN GENERAL. —To ensure the utility, accuracy, and sufficiency of data collected by or for the Agency for the purpose described in section 901(b), the Director shall establish standard methods for developing and collecting such data, taking into consideration— "(A) other Federal health data collection standards; and "(B) the differences between types of health care plans, delivery systems, health care providers, and provider arrangements. "(2) RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER DEPARTMENT PROGRAMS.— In any case where standards under paragraph (1) may affect the administration of other programs carried out by the Department of Health and Human Services, including the programs under title XVIII, XIX or XXI of the Social Security Act, or may affect health information that is subject to a standard developed under part C of title XI of the Social Security Act, they shall be in the form of recommendations to the Secretary for such program. "(b) STATISTICS AND ANALYSES. —The Director shall— "(1) take appropriate action to ensure that statistics and analyses developed under this title are of high quality, timely, and duly comprehensive, and that the statistics are specific, standardized, and adequately analyzed and indexed; and Publication. "(2) publish, make available, and disseminate such statistics and analyses on as wide a basis as is practicable.
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