[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 130 (Thursday, July 8, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39259-39261]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-16604]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-10-0636]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on 
proposed data collection projects, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. 
To request more information on the proposed projects or to obtain a 
copy of the data collection plans and instruments, call 404-639-5960 
and send comments to Maryam I. Daneshvar, CDC Acting Reports Clearance 
Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D74, Atlanta,

[[Page 39260]]

GA 30333 or send an e-mail to [email protected].
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology. Written comments should be received within 60 
days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Secure 
Communications Network (Epi-X) (OMB No. 0929-0636 exp. 12/31/2010)--
Revision--Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR), 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    The classification of this Information Collection (IC) is a 
revision of the State-Based Evaluation of the Alert Notification 
Component of CDC's Secure Communication Network (Epi-X) OMB Control No. 
0920-0636.
    This IC is being revised to improve the effectiveness of CDC 
communications with its public health partners during public health 
incident responses. These partners include public health officials and 
agencies at the State and local level.
    From 2005-2009, CDC conducted incident specific, public health 
emergency response operations on average of four public health 
incidents a year with an average emergency response length of 48 days 
for each incident. The effectiveness and efficiency of CDC's response 
to any public health incident depends on information at the agency's 
disposal to characterize and monitor the incident, make timely 
decisions, and take appropriate actions to prevent or reduce the impact 
of the incident.
    Available information during many public health incident responses 
is often incomplete, is not easily validated by State and local health 
authorities, and is sometimes conflicting. This lack of reliable 
information often creates a high level of uncertainty with potential 
negative impacts on public health response operations.
    Secure communications with CDC's State and local public health 
partners is essential to de-conflict information, validate incident 
status, and establish and maintain accurate situation awareness. 
Reliable, secure communications are essential for the agency to make 
informed decisions, and to respond in the most appropriate manner 
possible in order to minimize the impact of an incident on the public 
health of the United States.
    Epi-X is CDC's Web-based communication system for securely 
communicating during public health emergencies that have multi-
jurisdictional impact and implications. Epi-X was specifically designed 
to provide public health decision-makers at the State and local levels 
a secure, reliable tool for communicating information about sensitive, 
unusual, or urgent public health incidents to neighboring jurisdictions 
as well as to CDC. The system was also designed to generate a request 
for epidemiologic assistance (Epi-Aid) from CDC using a secure, 
paperless environment.
    Epi-X designers have developed functionalities that permit 
targeting of critical outbreak information to specific public health 
authorities who can act quickly to prevent the spread of diseases and 
other emergencies in multi-jurisdictional settings, such as those that 
could occur during an influenza pandemic, infection of food and water 
resources, and natural disasters.
    CDC has recognized a need to expand the use of Epi-X to collect 
specific response related information during public health emergencies. 
Authorized Officials from State and local health departments impacted 
by the public health incident will be surveyed only by Epi-X. 
Respondents will be informed of this data collection first through an 
Epi-X Facilitator, who will work closely with Epi-X program staff to 
ensure that Epi-X incident specific IC is understood. The survey 
instruments will contain specific questions relevant to the current and 
ongoing public health incident and response activities.
    The Web-based tool for data collection under Epi-X already is 
established for the current IC and has been in use since 2003. CDC will 
adapt it as needed to accommodate the data collection instruments. 
Respondents will receive the survey instrument as an official CDC e-
mail, which is clearly labeled, ``Epi-X Emergency Public Health 
Incident Information Request'' The e-mail message will be accompanied 
by a link to an Epi-X Forum discussion Web page. Respondents can 
provide their answers to the survey questions by posting information 
within the discussion.
    There are no costs to respondents except their time.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                Number of      Average burden
           Type of respondent                 Number of       responses per     per response      Total burden
                                             respondents       respondent        (in hours)           hours
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State Epidemiologists...................                50               100                 1             5,000
City and County Health Officials........             1,600                12                 1            19,200
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    Total...............................  ................  ................  ................            24,200
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[[Page 39261]]

    Dated: June 30, 2010.
Maryam I. Daneshvar,
Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2010-16604 Filed 7-7-10; 8:45 am]
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