A bill to establish within the National Institutes of Health an agency to be known as the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Amends the Public Health Service Act to repeal provisions regarding the Office of Alternative Medicine.
Establishes a National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine as a National Institutes of Health (NIH) agency, to be headed by a Director appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Requires the Director of the Center to study the integration of alternative treatment, diagnostic and prevention systems, modalities, and disciplines with the practice of conventional medicine as a complement to such medicine and into U.S. health care delivery systems.
Sets forth additional responsibilities of the Director, including the establishment of an advisory council, a bibliographic system for the collection of worldwide research relating to complementary and alternative medicine, a related information clearinghouse, and multipurpose research centers.
Requires the Director to submit biennial activity reports to the Director of NIH.
Authorizes appropriations for the Center for FY 1999 through 2003.
Transfers current employees and funds of the Office of Alternative Medicine to the Center.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources.