Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110

§280j–1 Collection and Analysis of Data for Quality and Resource Use Measures

Title 42 › CHAPTER 6A — PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE › SUBCHAPTER II — GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES › Part S — Health Care Quality Programs › subpart i — national strategy for quality improvement in health care › § 280j–1

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must create and run a plan to publicly report health care quality and cost information. The plan can include methods and timelines for making national data collection, combining, and analysis consistent. The Secretary must collect and combine quality and resource-use data from health care IT systems and may fund work to do this. Those efforts must match the health IT expansion, interoperability, and standards that were in effect on March 23, 2010. Over time the data systems must cover more patients, providers, and areas. The Secretary may give grants or contracts to help start or improve data collection and combining. Eligible groups include multi-stakeholder groups that plan consistent reporting, sources that can submit population-level data (like registries or regional collaborations), and Indian Health Service or tribal health programs. Recipients must help use the data to improve care, give timely and consistent reports with a chance for providers to correct errors, and agree to public reporting. Grants go only to groups that produce summary data that can be compared across sources. The Secretary will set rules to protect patient privacy and security. Recipients must provide $1 in non-Federal funds for every $5 of Federal money. Money is authorized as needed for fiscal years 2010 through 2014.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §280j–1

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

(a)In general
(1)Establishment of strategic framework
The Secretary shall establish and implement an overall strategic framework to carry out the public reporting of performance information, as described in section 280j–2 of this title. Such strategic framework may include methods and related timelines for implementing nationally consistent data collection, data aggregation, and analysis methods.
(2)Collection and aggregation of data
The Secretary shall collect and aggregate consistent data on quality and resource use measures from information systems used to support health care delivery, and may award grants or contracts for this purpose. The Secretary shall align such collection and aggregation efforts with the requirements and assistance regarding the expansion of health information technology systems, the interoperability of such technology systems, and related standards that are in effect on March 23, 2010.
(3)Scope
The Secretary shall ensure that the data collection, data aggregation, and analysis systems described in paragraph (1) involve an increasingly broad range of patient populations, providers, and geographic areas over time.
(b)Grants or contracts for data collection
(1)In general
The Secretary may award grants or contracts to eligible entities to support new, or improve existing, efforts to collect and aggregate quality and resource use measures described under subsection (c).
(2)Eligible entities
To be eligible for a grant or contract under this subsection, an entity shall—
(A)be—
(i)a multi-stakeholder entity that coordinates the development of methods and implementation plans for the consistent reporting of summary quality and cost information;
(ii)an entity capable of submitting such summary data for a particular population and providers, such as a disease registry, regional collaboration, health plan collaboration, or other population-wide source; or
(iii)a Federal Indian Health Service program or a health program operated by an Indian tribe (as defined in section 1603 of title 25);
(B)promote the use of the systems that provide data to improve and coordinate patient care;
(C)support the provision of timely, consistent quality and resource use information to health care providers, and other groups and organizations as appropriate, with an opportunity for providers to correct inaccurate measures; and
(D)agree to report, as determined by the Secretary, measures on quality and resource use to the public in accordance with the public reporting process established under section 280j–2 of this title.
(c)Consistent data aggregation
The Secretary may award grants or contracts under this section only to entities that enable summary data that can be integrated and compared across multiple sources. The Secretary shall provide standards for the protection of the security and privacy of patient data.
(d)Matching funds
The Secretary may not award a grant or contract under this section to an entity unless the entity agrees that it will make available (directly or through contributions from other public or private entities) non-Federal contributions toward the activities to be carried out under the grant or contract in an amount equal to $1 for each $5 of Federal funds provided under the grant or contract. Such non-Federal matching funds may be provided directly or through donations from public or private entities and may be in cash or in-kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, or services.
(e)Authorization of appropriations
To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2010 through 2014.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2010—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 111–148, § 10305, amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The Secretary shall collect and aggregate consistent data on quality and resource use measures from information systems used to support health care delivery to implement the public reporting of performance information, as described in section 280j–2 of this title, and may award grants or contracts for this purpose. The Secretary shall ensure that such collection, aggregation, and analysis systems span an increasingly broad range of patient populations, providers, and geographic areas over time.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 280j–1

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110