[Federal Register: March 21, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 53)]
[Notices]
[Page 13506]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21mr05-76]
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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 (dsknight@cdc.gov) or Suzi Gates, CDC, telephone 404-639-7829
sgates@cdc.gov).
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