38 U.S.C. § 7331 — Informed consent

Page 1200 TITLE 38—VETERANS’ BENEFITS § 7330D (F) develop recommendations regarding both short- and long-term priorities for health care services furnished under the laws administered by the Secretary; (G) after consultation with veterans service organizations and other key stakeholders on survey development or modification of an ex- isting survey, consider a survey of veterans who have used hospital care, medical services, or extended care services furnished by the Vet- erans Health Administration during the most recent 2-year period to assess the satisfaction of the veterans with service and quality of care; (H) conduct a comprehensive examination of programs and policies of the Department re- garding the delivery of health care services and the demand of health care services for vet- erans in future years; (I) assess the remediation of medical service lines of the Department as described in section 1706A of this title in conjunction with the uti- lization of non-Department entities or pro- viders to offset remediation; and (J) consider such other matters as the Sec- retary considers appropriate. (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Secretary shall be responsible for— (1) overseeing the transformation and orga- nizational change across the Department to achieve a high-performing integrated health care network; (2) developing the capital infrastructure planning and procurement processes, whether minor or major construction projects or leases; and (3) developing a multi-year budget process that is capable of forecasting future year budget requirements and projecting the cost of delivering health care services under such a high-performing integrated health care net- work. (d) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE- FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ means— (1) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the Sen- ate; and (2) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. (Added Pub. L. 115–182, title I, § 106(a), June 6, 2018, 132 Stat. 1413; amended Pub. L. 115–251, title II, § 211(a)(11), Sept. 29, 2018, 132 Stat. 3175.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The date of the enactment of the Caring for Our Vet- erans Act of 2018, referred to in subsecs. (a)(3)(B) and (b), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 115–182, which was approved June 6, 2018. AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 115–251, § 211(a)(11)(A)(i), substituted ‘‘Secretary shall’’ for ‘‘Secretary of Vet- erans Affairs shall’’. Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 115–251, § 211(a)(11)(A)(ii)(I), substituted ‘‘Department across’’ for ‘‘Department of Veterans Affairs across’’. Subsec. (a)(2)(C). Pub. L. 115–251, § 211(a)(11)(A)(ii)(II), substituted ‘‘of this title’’ for ‘‘of title 38, as added by section 102’’. Subsec. (a)(2)(H)(i). Pub. L. 115–251, § 211(a)(11)(A)(ii)(III), substituted ‘‘Department’’ for ‘‘Department of Veterans Affairs’’. Subsec. (a)(4)(A)(iii). Pub. L. 115–251, § 211(a)(11)(A)(iii)(I), inserted ‘‘of this title’’ after ‘‘sec- tion 1703C’’. Subsec. (a)(4)(B). Pub. L. 115–251, § 211(a)(11)(A)(iii)(II), inserted ‘‘of this title’’ after ‘‘section 1703(b)’’. Subsec. (b)(2)(I). Pub. L. 115–251, § 211(a)(11)(B), in- serted ‘‘of this title’’ after ‘‘section 1706A’’. Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 115–251, § 211(a)(11)(C)(i), sub- stituted ‘‘a high-performing’’ for ‘‘such high per- forming’’. Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 115–251, § 211(a)(11)(C)(ii), in- serted ‘‘such’’ before ‘‘a high-performing’’. § 7330D. Inapplicability of Paperwork Reduction Act to research activities Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44 (com- monly referred to as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act’’) shall not apply to the voluntary collec- tion of information during the conduct of re- search by the Veterans Health Administration, including the Office of Research and Develop- ment, or individuals or entities affiliated with the Veterans Health Administration. (Added Pub. L. 117–328, div. U, title I, § 181(a), Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5435.) SUBCHAPTER III—PROTECTION OF PATIENT RIGHTS § 7331. Informed consent The Secretary, upon the recommendation of the Under Secretary for Health and pursuant to the provisions of section 7334 of this title, shall prescribe regulations establishing procedures to ensure that all medical and prosthetic research carried out and, to the maximum extent prac- ticable, all patient care furnished under this title shall be carried out only with the full and informed consent of the patient or subject or, in appropriate cases, a representative thereof. (Added Pub. L. 94–581, title I, § 111(a)(1), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2849, § 4131; renumbered § 7331 and amended Pub. L. 102–40, title IV, §§ 401(a)(4)(A), 402(d)(1), 403(a)(1), May 7, 1991, 105 Stat. 221, 239; Pub. L. 102–405, title III, § 302(c)(1), Oct. 9, 1992, 106 Stat. 1984.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1992—Pub. L. 102–405 substituted ‘‘Under Secretary for Health’’ for ‘‘Chief Medical Director’’. 1991—Pub. L. 102–40, § 401(a)(4)(A), renumbered section 4131 of this title as this section. Pub. L. 102–40, § 403(a)(1), substituted ‘‘Secretary’’ for ‘‘Administrator’’. Pub. L. 102–40, § 402(d)(1), substituted ‘‘7334’’ for ‘‘4134’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Subchapter effective Oct. 21, 1976, see section 211 of Pub. L. 94–581, set out as an Effective Date of 1976 Amendment note under section 111 of this title. § 7332. Confidentiality of certain medical records (a)(1) Records of the identity, diagnosis, prog- nosis, or treatment of any patient or subject