(a) The regulations of this subpart apply to the peer review of contracts under:

(1) Title IX of the Public Health Service Act to support research, evaluation, demonstration, and dissemination projects, including conferences, on health care services and systems for the delivery of such services; and development of clinical practice guidelines, quality standards, performance measures, and review criteria.

(2) Section 1142 of the Social Security Act to support research on the outcomes, effectiveness, and appropriateness of health care services and procedures, including, but not limited to, evaluations of alternative services and procedures; projects to improve methods and data bases for outcomes and effectiveness research; dissemination of research information and clinical practice guidelines, as well as quality standards, performance measures, and review criteria; conferences; and research on dissemination methods.

(b) The regulations of this subpart also contain provisions respecting confidentiality of research data, control of data, and availability of information.

Contract proposal means a written offer to enter into a contract submitted to a contracting officer by an individual or non-Federal organization, and including at a minimum a description of the nature, purpose, duration, cost of project and methods, personnel, and facilities to be utilized in carrying out the requirements of the contract.

Peer review group means a panel of experts, as required by section 922(c) of the PHS Act, established to conduct technical and scientific review of contract proposals and to make recommendations to the Administrator regarding the merits of such proposals.

Request for proposals means a Government solicitation to prospective offerors, under procedures for negotiated contracts, to submit a proposal to fulfill specific agency requirements based on terms and conditions defined in the solicitation. The solicitation contains information sufficient to enable all offerors to prepare competitive proposals, and is as complete as possible with respect to: The nature of work to be performed; descriptions and specifications of items to be delivered; performance schedule; special requirements, clauses or other circumstances affecting the contract; and criteria by which the proposals will be evaluated.

(a) All contract proposals for AHCPR support will be submitted by the Administrator for review to a peer review group, as required in section 922(a) of the PHS Act. Proposals will be reviewed in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulations and the Health and Human Services Acquisition Regulations (48 CFR Ch. I and III) and the requirements of the pertinent Request for Proposal.

(b) Establishment of peer review groups. In accordance with section 922(c) of the PHS Act, the Administrator shall establish such peer review groups as may be necessary to review all contract proposals submitted to AHCPR.

(c) Composition of peer review groups. The peer review groups shall be composed of individuals, in accordance with section 922(c) of the PHS Act, as amended, who by virtue of their training or experience are eminently qualified to carry out the duties of such a peer review group. Officers and employees of the United States may not constitute more than 25 percent of the membership of any such group. Members of the peer review group will be selected based upon their training or experience in relevant scientific and technical fields, taking into account, among other factors:

(1) The level of formal education (e.g., M.A., Ph.D., M.D., D.N.Sc.) completed by the individual and/or, as appropriate, the individual's pertinent experience and expertise;

(2) The extent to which the individual has engaged in relevant research, the capacities (e.g., principal investigator, assistant) in which the individual has done so, and the quality of such research;

(3) The extent of the professional recognition received by the individual as reflected by awards and other honors received from scientific and professional organizations outside the Department of Health and Human Services;

(4) The need of the peer review group to include in its membership experts representing various areas of specialization in relevant scientific and technical fields, or specific health care issues; and

(5) Appropriate representation based on gender, racial/ethnic origin, and geography, to the extent practicable.

(d) Term of peer review group members. Notwithstanding section 922(c)(3) of the PHS Act, members of peer review groups appointed to review contract proposals will be appointed to such groups for a limited period of time, as determined by the Administrator; such as on an annual basis, or until the peer review of the contract proposals is completed, or until the expiration of the contract(s) awarded as a result of the peer review.

(e) Conflict of interest. (1) Members of peer review groups will be screened for potential conflicts of interest prior to appointment and will be required to follow Department policies and procedures consistent with the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (5 CFR part 2635) and Executive Order 12674 (as modified by Executive Order 12731).

(2) In addition to any restrictions referenced under paragraph (e)(1) of this section:

(i) No member of a peer review group may participate in or be present during any review by such group of a contract proposal in which, to the member's knowledge, any of the following has a financial interest:

(A) The member or his or her spouse, minor child, or partner;

(B) Any organization in which the member is serving as an officer, director, trustee, general partner, or employee; or

(C) Any organization with which the member is negotiating or has any arrangement concerning prospective employment or other similar association, and further;

(ii) In the event any member of a peer review group or his or her spouse, parent, child, or partner is currently or expected to be the project director or member of the staff responsible for carrying out any contract requirements as specified in the contract proposal, that member is disqualified and will be replaced as appropriate.

Identifying information obtained in the course of conducting AHCPR contract activities under this subpart is protected by section 903(c) of the PHS Act. Specifically:

(a) No information obtained in the course of conducting AHCPR contract activities under this subpart, if the entity or individual supplying the information or described in it is identifiable, may be used for any purpose other than the purpose for which it was supplied, unless the identifiable entity or individual supplying the information or described in it has consented to such other use, in the recorded form and manner as the Administrator may require.

(b) No information obtained in the course of conducting AHCPR contract activities under this subpart may be published or released in other form if the individual who supplied the information or who is described in it is identifiable, unless such individual has consented, in the recorded form and manner as the Administrator may require, to such publication or release.

(a) Data will be collected, maintained, and supplied as provided in each contract subject to the confidentiality requirements of section 903(c) of the PHS Act, section 1142(d) of the Social Security Act, and § 67.104 of this subpart.

(b) All publications, reports, papers, statistics, or other materials developed from work supported in whole or in part by contracts under Title IX of the PHS Act or section 1142 of the Social Security Act, if applicable, must be submitted to the Administrator in accordance with the terms of the contract. All publications must include an acknowledgment that such materials are the results of, or describe, a contractual activity supported by AHCPR.

(c) In accordance with 48 CFR 52.227-14, unless otherwise specified in the contract, AHCPR will retain a license to use, disclose, reproduce, prepare derivative works from, distribute copies to the public, and perform publicly and display publicly any copyrightable materials produced under a contract for any purpose consistent with AHCPR's statutory responsibilities, and to have or permit others to do so for accomplishment of AHCPR purposes.

(d) Except for identifying information protected by section 903(c) of the PHS Act, the Administrator, as appropriate, will make information provided in accordance with paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section available, and arrange for dissemination of such information and materials on as broad a basis as practicable and in such form as to make them as useful as possible to a variety of audiences, including health care providers, practitioners, consumers, educators, and policymakers.