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Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110

§286d National Information Center

Title 42 › CHAPTER 6A — PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE › SUBCHAPTER III — NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTES › Part D — National Library of Medicine › subpart 4 — national information center on health services research and health care technology › § 286d

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates the National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology inside the Library. The Center must collect, store, analyze, and share information on health services research, clinical practice guidelines, and health care technology, and must build and maintain databases and methods to do this. The Center’s director must keep clinical practice guidelines in an electronic, easy-to-use form and publish rules for what guidelines and technology assessments may be included. The Secretary must coordinate the Center’s work with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §286d

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

(a)Establishment
There is established within the Library an entity to be known as the National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (in this section referred to as the “Center”).
(b)Purpose
The purpose of the Center is the collection, storage, analysis, retrieval, and dissemination of information on health services research, clinical practice guidelines, and on health care technology, including the assessment of such technology. Such purpose includes developing and maintaining data bases and developing and implementing methods of carrying out such purpose.
(c)Electronic, convenient format; criteria for inclusion
The Director of the Center shall ensure that information under subsection (b) concerning clinical practice guidelines is collected and maintained electronically and in a convenient format. Such Director shall develop and publish criteria for the inclusion of practice guidelines and technology assessments in the information center database.
(d)Coordination with Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
The Secretary, acting through the Center, shall coordinate the activities carried out under this section through the Center with related activities of the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1999—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 106–129 substituted “Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality” for “Administrator for Health Care Policy and Research”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Construction

Pub. L. 103–43, § 1422(b), June 10, 1993, 107 Stat. 172, provided that: “The

Amendments

made by section 3 of Public Law 102–410 (106 Stat. 2094) [amending section 299a–1 of this title], by section 1421 of this Act [enacting this section], and by subsection (a) of this section [amending section 299a–1 of this title] may not be construed as terminating the information center on health care technologies and health care technology assessment established under section 904 of the Public Health Service Act [42 U.S.C. 299a–2], as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of Public Law 102–410 [Oct. 13, 1992]. Such center shall be considered to be the center established in section 478A of the Public Health Service Act [42 U.S.C. 286d], as added by section 1421 of this Act, and shall be subject to the provisions of such section 478A.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 286d

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110