1.Epilepsy centers of
excellence
(a)Subchapter II of
chapter 73 of title 38,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
7330A.Epilepsy
centers of excellence
(a)(1)Not
later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the
Secretary shall, upon the recommendation of the Under Secretary for Health,
designate not less than six Department health-care facilities as the locations
for epilepsy centers of excellence.
(2)Subject to the availability of
appropriations for such purpose, the Secretary shall establish and operate
epilepsy centers of excellence at the locations designated pursuant to
paragraph (1).
(b)Designation of
Facilities(1)The Secretary may not
designate a Department health-care facility as a location for an epilepsy
center of excellence under subsection (a)(1) unless the peer review panel
established under subsection (c) has determined under that subsection that the
proposal submitted by such facility seeking designation as a location for an
epilepsy center of excellence is among those proposals that meet the highest
competitive standards of scientific and clinical merit.
(2)In choosing from among the facilities
meeting the requirements of paragraph (1), the Secretary shall also consider
appropriate geographic distribution when designating the epilepsy centers of
excellence under subsection (a)(1).
(c)(1)The
Under Secretary for Health shall establish a peer review panel to assess the
scientific and clinical merit of proposals that are submitted to the Secretary
for the designation of epilepsy centers of excellence under this
section.
(2)(A)The membership of the
peer review panel shall consist of experts on epilepsy, including
post-traumatic epilepsy.
(B)Members of the peer review panel
shall serve for a period of no longer than two years, except as specified in
subparagraph (C).
(C)Of the members first appointed to the
panel, one half shall be appointed for a period of three years and one half
shall be appointed for a period of two years, as designated by the Under
Secretary at the time of appointment.
(3)The peer review panel shall review
each proposal submitted to the panel by the Under Secretary for Health and
shall submit its views on the relative scientific and clinical merit of each
such proposal to the Under Secretary.
(4)The peer review panel shall not be
subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
(d)Epilepsy Center
of Excellence DefinedIn this
section, the term epilepsy center of excellence means a Department
health-care facility that has (or in the foreseeable future can develop) the
necessary capacity to function as a center of excellence in research,
education, and clinical care activities in the diagnosis and treatment of
epilepsy and has (or may reasonably be anticipated to develop) each of the
following:
(1)An affiliation
with an accredited medical school that provides education and training in
neurology, including an arrangement with such school under which medical
residents receive education and training in the diagnosis and treatment of
epilepsy (including neurosurgery).
(2)The ability to
attract the participation of scientists who are capable of ingenuity and
creativity in health-care research efforts.
(3)An advisory
committee composed of veterans and appropriate health-care and research
representatives of the facility and of the affiliated school or schools to
advise the directors of such facility and such center on policy matters
pertaining to the activities of the center during the period of the operation
of such center.
(4)The capability to
conduct effectively evaluations of the activities of such center.
(5)The capability to
coordinate (as part of an integrated national system) education, clinical care,
and research activities within all facilities with such centers.
(6)The capability to
develop jointly a national consortium of providers with interest in treating
epilepsy at Department health-care facilities lacking such centers in order to
ensure better access to state-of-the-art diagnosis, research, clinical care,
and education for traumatic brain injury and epilepsy throughout the
health-care system of the Department. Such consortium should include a
designated epilepsy referral clinic in each Veterans Integrated Service
Network.
(7)The capability to assist in the expansion
of the Department’s use of information systems and databases to improve the
quality and delivery of care for veterans enrolled within the Department’s
health care system.
(8)The capability to
assist in the expansion of the Department telehealth program to develop,
transmit, monitor, and review neurological diagnostic tests.
(9)The ability to perform epilepsy research,
education, and clinical care activities in collaboration with Department
medical facilities that have centers for research, education, and clinical care
activities on complex multi-trauma associated with combat injuries established
under section 7327 of this title.
(e)National
coordinator for epilepsy programs(1)To assist the Secretary
and the Under Secretary for Health in carrying out this section, the Secretary
shall designate an individual in the Veterans Health Administration to act as a
national coordinator for epilepsy programs of the Veterans Health
Administration.
(2)The duties of the national
coordinator for epilepsy programs shall include the following:
(A)To supervise the operation of the
centers established pursuant to this section.
(B)To coordinate and support the national
consortium of providers with interest in treating epilepsy at Department
health-care facilities lacking such centers in order to ensure better access to
state-of-the-art diagnosis, research, clinical care, and education for
traumatic brain injury and epilepsy throughout the health-care system of the
Department.
(C)To conduct regular evaluations of the
epilepsy centers of excellence to ensure compliance with the requirements of
this section.
(3)In carrying out duties under this
subsection, the national coordinator for epilepsy programs shall report to the
official of the Veterans Health Administration responsible for
neurology.
(f)Authorization of
Appropriations(1)There are authorized to
be appropriated $6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 for the
support of the clinical care, research, and education activities of the
epilepsy centers of excellence established and operated pursuant to subsection
(a)(2).
(2)There are authorized to be
appropriated for each fiscal year after fiscal year 2012 such sums as may be
necessary for the support of the clinical care, research, and education
activities of the epilepsy centers of excellence established and operated
pursuant to subsection (a)(2).
(3)The Secretary shall ensure that funds
for such centers are designated for the first three years of operation as a
special purpose program for which funds are not allocated through the Veterans
Equitable Resource Allocation system.
(4)In addition to amounts authorized to
be appropriated under paragraphs (1) and (2) for a fiscal year, the Under
Secretary for Health shall allocate to such centers from other funds
appropriated generally for the Department medical services account and medical
and prosthetics research account, as appropriate, such amounts as the Under
Secretary for Health determines appropriate.
(5)In addition to amounts authorized to
be appropriated under paragraphs (1) and (2) for a fiscal year, there are
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to fund the
national coordinator established by subsection
(e).
.
(b)The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 73 of
such title is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 7330 the
following new item:
7330A. Epilepsy centers of
excellence.
.
December 12, 2007
Reported without amendment