Title 42The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§286b–4 Assistance for projects in sciences related to health, for research and development in medical library science, and for development of education technologies

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 6A— - PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTES › Part Part D— - National Library of Medicine › Subpart subpart 2— - financial assistance › § 286b–4

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must give grants to doctors, other health practitioners, scientists, and public or nonprofit institutions to collect or write works about scientific, social, or cultural advances in health sciences. The Secretary must also arrange for use of the Library and college or university libraries for those projects. Grants and contracts can fund research, tests, and demonstrations in medical library science and the creation of new methods, systems, and tools to process, store, find, and share health information. The Secretary must fund public or nonprofit groups to create and test new education technologies. Examples include computer-based teaching and testing, moving lab discoveries into clinical use, using computer research databases, and trying new training tools. Applicants must agree to make the projects help train health students and improve health professionals’ research and teaching skills.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §286b–4

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary shall make grants to physicians and other practitioners in the sciences related to health, to scientists, and to public or nonprofit private institutions on behalf of such physicians, other practitioners, and scientists for the compilation of existing, or the writing of original, contributions relating to scientific, social, or cultural advancements in sciences related to health. In making such grants, the Secretary shall make appropriate arrangements under which the facilities of the Library and the facilities of libraries of public and private nonprofit institutions of higher learning may be made available in connection with the projects for which such grants are made.
(b)The Secretary shall make grants to appropriate public or private nonprofit institutions and enter into contracts with appropriate persons, for purposes of carrying out projects of research, investigations, and demonstrations in the field of medical library science and related activities and for the development of new techniques, systems, and equipment, for processing, storing, retrieving, and distributing information pertaining to sciences related to health.
(c)(1)The Secretary shall make grants to public or nonprofit private institutions for the purpose of carrying out projects of research on, and development and demonstration of, new education technologies.
(2)The purposes for which a grant under paragraph (1) may be made include projects concerning—
(A)computer-assisted teaching and testing of clinical competence at health professions and research institutions;
(B)the effective transfer of new information from research laboratories to appropriate clinical applications;
(C)the expansion of the laboratory and clinical uses of computer-stored research databases; and
(D)the testing of new technologies for training health care professionals.
(3)The Secretary may not make a grant under paragraph (1) unless the applicant for the grant agrees to make the projects available with respect to—
(A)assisting in the training of health professions students; and
(B)enhancing and improving the capabilities of health professionals regarding research and teaching.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1993—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103–43 added subsec. (c).

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 286b–4

Title 42The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73