sharing of medical facilities, equipment, and information

sharing of medical facilities, equipment, and information Sec. 203. Chapter 81 of title 38. United States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof a new subchapter as follows: “Subchapter IV—Sharing of Medical Facilities, Equipment, and Information “§ 5051. Statement of congressional purpose “It is the purpose of this subchapter to improve the quality of hospital care and other medical service provided veterans under this title, by authorizing the Administrator to enter into agreements with medical schools, hospitals, and research centers throughout the country in order to receive from and share with such medical schools, hospitals, and research centers the most advanced medical techniques and information, as well as certain specialized medical resources which otherwise might not be feasibly available or to effectively utilize other medical resources with the surrounding medical community, without diminution of services to veterans. Among other things, it is intended, by these means, to strengthen the medical programs at those Veterans’ Administration hospitals which are located in small cities or rural areas and thus are remote from major medical centers. “§ 5052. Definitions “For the purposes of this subchapter— “(a) The term ‘research center’ means an institution (or part of an institution), the primary function of which is research, training of specialists, and demonstrations and which, in connection therewith, provides specialized, high quality diagnostic and treatment services for inpatients and outpatients. “(b) The term ‘specialized medical resources’ means medical resources (whether equipment, space, or personnel) which, because of cost, limited availability, or unusual nature, are either unique in the medical community or are subject to maximum utilization only through mutual use. 80 Stat. 1374 “(c) The term ‘hospital’, unless otherwise specified, includes any Federal, State, local, or other public or private hospital. “§ 5053. Specialized medical resources “(a) To secure certain specialized medical resources which otherwise might not be feasibly available, or to effectively utilize certain other medical resources, the Administrator may, when he determines it to be in the best interest of the prevailing standards of the Veterans’ Administration medical care program, make arrangements, by contract or other form of agreement, as set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) below, between Veterans’ Administration hospitals and other hospitals (or medical schools or other medical installations having hospital facilities) in the medical community: “(1) for the exchange of use of specialized medical resources when such an agreement will obviate the need for a similar resource to be provided in a Veterans’ Administration facility; or “(2) for the mutual use, or exchange of use, of specialized medical resources in a Veterans’ Administration facility, which have been justified on the basis of veterans’ care, but which are not utilized to their maximum effective capacity. The Administrator may determine the geographical limitations of a medical community as used in this section. “(b) Arrangements entered into under this section shall provide for reciprocal reimbursement based on a charge which covers the full cost of services rendered, supplies used, and including normal depreciation and amortization costs of equipment. Any proceeds to the Government received therefrom shall be credited to the applicable Veterans’ Administration medical appropriation. “(c) Eligibility for hospital care and medical services furnished any veteran pursuant to this section shall be subject to the same terms as though provided in a Veterans’ Administration facility, and provisions of this title applicable to persons receiving hospital care or medical services in a Veterans’ Administration facility shall apply to veterans treated hereunder. “§ 5054. Exchange of medical information “(a) The Administrator is authorized to enter into agreements with medical schools, hospitals, research centers, and individual members of the medical profession under which medical information and techniques will be freely exchanged and the medical information services of all parties to the agreement will be available for use by any party to the agreement under conditions specified in the agreement. In carrying out the purposes of this section, the Administrator shall utilize recent developments in electronic equipment to provide a close educational, scientific, and professional link between Veterans’ Administration hospitals and major medical centers. Such agreements shall be utilized by the Administrator to the maximum extent practicable to create, at each Veterans’ Administration hospital which is a part of any such agreement, an environment of academic medicine which will help such hospital attract and retain highly trained and qualified members of the medical profession. “(b) In order to bring about utilization of all medical information in the surrounding medical community, particularly in remote areas, and to foster and encourage the widest possible cooperation and consultation among all members of the medical profession in such community, the educational facilities and programs established at Veterans’ Administration hospitals and the electronic link to medical centers shall be made available for use by surrounding medical community. The Administrator may charge a fee for such services (on 80 Stat. 1375annual or like basis) at rates which he determines, after appropriate study, to be fair and equitable. The financial status of any user of such services shall be taken into consideration by the Administrator in establishing the amount of the fee to be paid. “§ 5055. Pilot programs; grants to medical schools “(a) The Administrator may establish an Advisory Subcommittee on Programs for Exchange or Medical Information, of the Special Medical Advisory Group, established under section 4112 of this title, to advise him on matters regarding the administration of this section and to coordinate these functions with other research and education programs in the Department of Medicine and Surgery. The Assistant Chief Medical Director for Research and Education in Medicine shall be an ex officio member of this Subcommittee. “(b) The Administrator, upon the recommendation of the Subcommittee, is authorized to make grants to medical schools, hospitals, and research centers to assist such medical schools, hospitals, and research centers in planning and carrying out agreements authorized by section 5054 of this title. Such grants may be used for the employment of personnel, the construction of facilities, the purchasing of equipment when necessary to implement such programs, and for such other purposes as will facilitate the administration of this section. “(c) (1) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated an amount not to exceed $3,000,000 for each of the first four fiscal years following the fiscal year in which this subchapter is enacted for the purpose of developing and carrying out medical information programs under this section on a pilot program basis and for the grants authority in subsection (b) of this section. Pilot programs authorized by this subsection shall be carried out at Veterans’ Administration hospitals in geographically dispersed areas of the United States. “(2) Funds authorized under this section shall not be available to pay the cost of hospital, medical, or other care of patients except to the extent that such cost is determined by the Administrator to be incident to research, training, or demonstration activities carried out under this section. “(d) The Administrator, after consultation with the Subcommittee shall prescribe regulations covering the terms and conditions for making grants under this section. “(e) Each recipient of a grant under this section shall keep such records as the Administrator may prescribe, including records which fully disclose the amount and disposition by such recipient of the proceeds of such grant, the total cost of the project or undertaking in connection with which such grant is made or used, and the amount of that portion of the cost of the project or undertaking supplied by other sources, and such records as will facilitate an effective audit. “(f) The Administrator and the Comptroller General of the United States, or any of their duly authorized representatives, shall have access, for the purpose of audit and examination, to any books, documents, papers, and records of the recipient of any grant under this section which are pertinent to any such grant. “§ 5056. Coordination with programs carried out under the Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke Amendments of 1965 “The Administrator and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall, to the maximum extent practicable, coordinate programs carried out under this subchapter and programs carried out under title IX of the Public Health Service Act. 80 Stat. 1376 “§ 5057. Reports to Congress “The Administrator shall submit to the Congress not more than sixty days after the end of each fiscal year separate reports on the activities carried out under sections 5053 and 5054 of this subchapter, each report to include (1) an appraisal of the effectiveness or the programs authorized herein and the degree of cooperation from other sources, financial and otherwise, and (2) recommendations for the improvement or more effective administration of such programs.”