12 2 STA T . 2 584PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 2 7 5 —J UL Y 15 , 2008 (1)INGE NE RAL.—PartEof t i t leXV IIIoft h e S o c ial Sec u rit yA ct( 42U .S. C . 1 395x et s e q .)isa m e nd ed b y insertin g after section 1 8 89 the follo w ing new section
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‘ CO N T RACT WI T H A CON S ENS U S -B ASE D ENTIT Y REGARDING P ER F OR M ANCE MEASUREMENT ‘‘SEC. 189 0 . (a) CONTRACT.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— F or p urposes of acti v ities conducted under this Act , the Secretary shall identify and have in effect a contract with a consensus-based entity, such as the N ational Q uality Forum, that meets the requirements described in sub- section (c). Such contract shall provide that the entity will perform the duties described in subsection (b). ‘‘(2) T IMING FOR FIRST CONTRACT.—As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall enter into the first contract under paragraph (1). ‘‘(3) PERIOD OF CONTRACT.—A contract under paragraph (1) shall be for a period of 4 years (except as may be renewed after a subsequent bidding process). ‘‘(4) COMPETITI V E PROCEDURES.—Competitive procedures (as defined in section 4(5) of the O ffice of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403(5))) shall be used to enter into a contract under paragraph (1). ‘‘(b) D UTIES.—The duties described in this subsection are the following: ‘‘(1) PRIORITY SETTING PROCESS.—The entity shall syn- thesi z e evidence and convene k ey stakeholders to make rec- ommendations, with respect to activities conducted under this Act, on an integrated national strategy and priorities for health care performance measurement in all applicable settings. In making such recommendations, the entity shall— ‘‘(A) ensure that priority is given to measures— ‘‘(i) that address the health care provided to patients with prevalent, high-cost chronic diseases
‘‘(ii) with the greatest potential for improving the quality, efficiency, and patient-centeredness of health care; and ‘‘(iii) that may be implemented rapidly due to existing evidence, standards of care, or other reasons; and ‘‘( B ) take into account measures that— ‘‘(i) may assist consumers and patients in making informed health care decisions; ‘‘(ii) address health disparities across groups and areas; and ‘‘(iii) address the continuum of care a patient receives, including services furnished by multiple health care providers or practitioners and across mul- tiple settings. ‘‘(2) ENDORSEMENT OF MEASURES.—The entity shall provide for the endorsement of standardized health care performance measures. The endorsement process under the preceding sen- tence shall consider whether a measure— ‘‘(A) is evidence-based, reliable, valid, verifiable, rel- evant to enhanced health outcomes, actionable at the care- giver level, feasible to collect and report, and responsive to variations in patient characteristics, such as health 42USC1395a aa .
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