[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 53 (Monday, March 21, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 13506]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-5495]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


CDC-INFO Contact Center; Announcement

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

ACTION: Public notice.

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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announces a new 
consolidated consumer response service for health information inquiries 
called the CDC-INFO Contact Center and is phasing out of numerous 
existing hotlines and clearinghouses serving those purposes.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is being published pursuant to 
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-130, ``Management 
of Federal Information Resources,'' Section 8.a.6.(j) which requires 
federal agencies to provide adequate notice when initiating, 
substantially modifying, or terminating significant information 
dissemination products.
    CDC is transitioning to a new consumer response service (CRS) 
offering that will consolidate virtually all of CDC's existing 
hotlines, clearinghouses, and other information fulfillment services 
for the public and health professionals seeking health information from 
CDC. Beginning in February 2005 and extending over the following 2-3 
years, the breadth of CDC's health topics will be transitioned into the 
new consolidated service.
    The CRS will handle incoming calls, fax transmissions, postal mail, 
e-mails, and web inquiries, 24 hours a day, every day. Responses will 
be provided verbally, via fax, e-mail, interactive web, or postal mail 
based on the nature of the information request and the caller's 
preferred response method. The service will be multilingual (Spanish 
initially) and include services for the hearing impaired.
    As the current services are transitioned, existing hotlines and 
clearinghouses will be phased out. Targeted notifications will be 
disseminated to the particular communities of interest as each health 
topic is transitioned. Similarly, the CDC voice/fax information 
service, (CDC VIS) which is an interactive voice response system will 
be phased out when the majority of health topics have been 
transitioned.
    The overall objective of the CDC-INFO Contact Center is to ensure 
the dissemination of consistent, timely, reliable health information to 
a variety of consumers, and to address variations in the number of 
inquiries related to public health emergencies, news events, and 
dynamic, shifting public health priorities. Specific objectives are to 
bring CDC closer to citizens and improve their ability to access health 
information from CDC. The CDC-INFO Contact Center will provide service 
at the first level of contact to give citizens the health information 
they want, when they want it, and how they want it. In addition to 
optimizing customer interactions, the CDC-INFO Contact Center will 
reduce the unit cost of providing health information, support 
accountability, and employ performance-based metrics to meet customer 
satisfaction goals.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dottie Knight, CDC, telephone 404-498-
3208 ([email protected]) or Suzi Gates, CDC, telephone 404-639-7829 
([email protected]).

    Dated: March 14, 2005.
James Seligman,
Chief Information Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 05-5495 Filed 3-18-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P