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HR 3303 113th Congress House Health Administrative law and regulatory procedures Computers and information technology Department of Health and Human Services Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Health care quality Health information and medical records Health technology, devices, supplies

SOFTWARE Act of 2013

Introduced: March 24, 2014 Introduced by: Blackburn, Marsha Republican · Tennessee See on congress.gov
This bill died when the 113th Congress ended
It never became law before the 113th Congress (2013–2014) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Oct 25, 2013
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Oct 22, 2013
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Oct 22, 2013
Introduced in House
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 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Sensible Oversight for Technology which Advances Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013 or the SOFTWARE Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to apply it to medical software to the same extent and in the same manner as it applies to devices. Defines "medical software" as software that is intended to be marketed:

  • to directly change the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals; or
  • for use by consumers and makes recommendations for clinical action that includes the use of a drug, device, or procedure to cure or treat a disease or other condition without requiring the involvement of a health care provider and which, if followed, would change the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals. Excludes from such definition software whose primary purpose is integral to the functioning of a drug or device and is not a component of a device.

Excludes clinical software and health software (defined as follows) from FDCA regulation.

Defines "clinical software" as software that: (1) captures, analyzes, changes, or presents patient or population clinical data or information and may recommend courses of clinical action, but does not directly change the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals; and (2) is intended for use only by a health care provider in a health care setting.

Defines "health software" as software that is not medical software or clinical software and that: (1) captures, analyzes, changes, or presents patient or population clinical data or information or supports administrative or operational aspects of health care and is not used in the direct delivery of care; or (2) has as its primary purpose to act as a platform for a secondary software, to run or act as a mechanism for connectivity, or to store data.

Expresses the sense of Congress concerning the value of clinical software and health software to health care quality and efficacy and the need for legislation that establishes a risk-based regulatory framework that reduces regulatory burdens, promotes patient safety, and fosters innovation.

Excludes medical software, clinical software, and health software from the FDCA definition of "device."

What's happening now October 25, 2013

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 3303: SOFTWARE Act of 2013. 113th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/113-HR-3303/
MLA
"H.R. 3303: SOFTWARE Act of 2013." 113th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/113-HR-3303/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 3303, 113th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/113-HR-3303/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 3303: SOFTWARE Act of 2013](https://openamerica.io/bill/113-HR-3303/)
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