[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 193 (Thursday, October 6, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58423-58425]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-20060]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of 
Authority

    Part C (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) of the 
Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority of 
the Department of Health and Human Services (45 FR 67772-76, dated 
October 14, 1980, and corrected at 45 FR 69296, October 20, 1980, as 
amended most recently at 70 FR 55859-55860, dated September 23, 2005) 
is amended to reflect the establishment of the national Center for 
Public Health Informatics within the Coordinating Center for Health 
Information Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    Delete in its entirety the titles and functional statements for the 
Information Resources Management Office (CAJ5).
    After the mission statement for the National Center for Health 
Statistics (CPC), insert the following:
    National Center for Public Health Informatics (CPE). The National 
Center for Public Health Informatics (NCPHI) protects and improves the 
public's health through discovery, innovation, and service in health 
information technology and informatics. Informatics can be defined as 
the collection, classification, storage, retrieval, and dissemination 
of recorded knowledge. Public health informatics can be defined as the 
systematic application of information and computer science and 
technology to public health practice, research and learning. NCPHI 
assumes a leadership role for CDC in public health informatics and 
health information technology; ensures progress on CDC information 
resources, informatics, and health information systems and standards; 
facilitate cross-national center collaboration on informatics and 
health information projects; and advances and supports health 
information and informatics initiatives, systems, and activities across 
public health.
    Office of the Director (CPE1). (1) Plans, directs, coordinates, 
implements, and manages activities of the National Center for Public 
Health Informatics; (2) develops and recommends policies and procedures 
relating to informatics resources management and support services as 
appropriate; (3) develops vision and strategies for informatics and its 
application within public health both nationally and internationally; 
(4) assesses CDC-wide needs for informatics support; (5) collects 
external input on informatics and applies the knowledge gained to 
agency decision-making; (6) establishes CDC-wide informatics 
priorities, including opportunities for redirecting resources to areas 
of greater impact; (7) provides for the informatics response for cross-
cutting urgent and emergent needs; (8) establishes measures of success/
effectiveness of CDC informatics activities and provides guidance to 
CDC programs on applying these measures; (9) evaluates informactics 
services based on internal and external input; (10) establishes and 
maintains internal CDC processes for decision making regarding 
standards, guidelines, policies that have applicability throughout CDC; 
(11) establishes and ensures the consistent application of the CDC 
enterprise architecture to align systems and platforms with CDC 
business objectives and goals and optimize the use of information 
resources; (12) establishes and ensures the consistent application of 
the CDC unified process to define a clear approach to deliver 
successful projects that comply with federal regulations and policies 
and CDC and Public Health Information Network standards; (13) 
establishes and ensures the adoption of CDC-wide standards and 
specifications that facilitate interoperability across sectors and 
provides consistency of functionality; (14) establishes relationships 
for public health infromatics across CDC and with state and local 
public health organizations and other partners on informatics methods, 
processes, and policies; (15) optimizes the portfolio of CDC's 
informatics projects and systems, identifying and facilitating 
opportunities for cross-coordinating center/coordinating office/
national center collaboration in order to leverage investments and 
promote efficiency and integration; (16) promotes the integration of 
informatics systems (e.g. surveillance) and approaches across CDC; (17) 
collaborates and coordinates with all CDC organizations on informatics 
and health information technology issues and works closely with the 
Chief Information Officer on the interrelationships between informatics 
and information technology services, security, and information 
technology capital planning.
    Enterprise Architecture Activity (CPE12). (1) Establishes, leads 
and manages the CDC enterprise information technology program; (2) 
ensures that the enterprise architecture and its associated standards 
and specifications are applied properly throughout information 
resources activities; (3) develops, facilitates and maintains processes 
and procedures for evaluating and incorporating new technology and 
standards in CDC's information resource environment; (4) develops and 
establishes CDC's information resource current, transitional, and 
future state technology architectures; (5) leads and staffs across-
agency Enterprise Architecture Board; (6) represents CDC on Department 
of Health and Human Services and other federal and health architecture 
initiatives; (7) provides subject matter expertise on the direction and 
application of technology; (8) establishes and manages communities of

[[Page 58424]]

practices for technology domains; (9) develops and maintains a 
certification program to ensure partners' solutions are compatible and 
compliant with Public Health Information Network requirements, 
standards, and specifications;
    Science and Research Activity (PCE13). (1) Sponsors and conducts 
research on relevant informatics approaches and technologies; (2) 
manages a repository of CDC and external research on informatics and 
promotes the use of such research throughout CDC; (3) develops a 
research agenda on public health informatics as a component of the CDC-
wide research agenda; (4) sponsors and conducts research on informatics 
(e.g. ways of protecting privacy of health records in an electronic 
environment, extent to which personal health records can be used for 
public health surveillance, expanded use of access to other non-
traditional health data sources); (5) conducts applied research on 
relevant approaches and technologies (e.g. applying ideas for standards 
to systems, detection algorithms); (6) conducts systematic reviews of 
available research results on informatics to ensure that existing 
knowledge base is available for public health informatics; (7) creates 
opportunities for innovation (e.g. develop reward systems, establish 
centers of excellence, fund internal pilot projects); (8) provides 
guidance and oversight of the practice of science in the center; (9) 
oversees and provides leadership in center planning, prioritization and 
evaluation of center research; (10) oversees the science process in the 
center; (11) facilitates coordination of cross-cutting research in the 
center; (12) assures the quality, objectivity and integrity of the 
practice of science in the center; (13) assures external peer review of 
research; (140 guides the measurement of research impact; (15) guides 
translation of research to practice; (16) represents the center on the 
Excellence in Science Committee and other committees.
    Program Management Activity (CPE14). (1) Develops vision and 
strategies for informatics and its application within public health 
(including opportunities for redirecting and identifying resources to 
areas of greater impact) and opportunities for cross-coordinating 
center/coordinating office/national center collaboration; (3) 
establishes measures of success/effectiveness of CDC informatics 
activities; (4) establishes and maintains internal CDC processes for 
decision making regarding metrics, standards, guidelines and policies; 
(5) develops and manages the CDC Unified Process program for use across 
the agency; (6) Facilitates and staffs informatics governance 
activities; (7) coordinates, manages, and optimizes the informatics 
portfolio of projects and systems; (8) identifies and incorporates best 
practices for project management within the agency; (9) establishes and 
manages mentoring programs and communities of practices for project 
management; (10) evaluates health of projects and recommends areas for 
improvement; (11) evaluates, designs, and deploys processes, 
procedures, and systems for project management and system development.
    Business Services Office (CPE15). The Business Services Office 
(BSO) provides the coordinating office with a centralized business hub 
where customer service and business administration is the focal point 
of all business support functions. To carry out its mission, the BSO: 
(1) Develops and implements supplemental and/or unique-to-NCPHI 
administrative policies and procedures that govern business 
administration, procurement practices, facilities management, time and 
attendance reporting, travel, records management, personnel and a wide 
scope of other business services; (2) plans, coordinates, tracks, and 
provides management advice and direction of fiscal management for the 
organization's annual budgets and spending plans; (3) provides 
consultation on human capital needs and facilitates hiring and training 
practices as described in Office of Personnel Management and agency 
guidelines; (4) coordinates and manages all business services related 
to management, administration, and training for NCPHI; (5) coordinates 
all issues related to physical security, telecommunications, office 
space and design, procurement of equipment, furniture, and information 
technology services, and facilities management; (6) provides assistance 
to others and independently formulates, develops, negotiates, manages, 
and administers various NCPHI contracts, grants and cooperative 
agreements; (7) maintains liaison with the other offices within NCPHI, 
the coordinating center and other business service divisions and 
offices within CDC/ATSDR.
    Division of Alliance Management and Consultation (CPEB). (1) 
Establishes and maintains relationships for public health informatics 
across CDC, with partners and with other health care entities; (2) 
provides expertise and support to CDC staff, partners, and other health 
care entities on informatics methods, processes, policies, and 
standards; (3) promotes health standards and facilitates forums across 
CDC, sectors, and other federal agencies to ensure efficient data 
exchange, interoperability of systems, and consistent implementation of 
methods and policy; (4) advances the development of a workforce skilled 
in public health informatics by developing and providing training 
across CDC, to partners, and to other health care entities; (5) 
promotes the interests of public health in the development of 
informatics standards (working with federal, state and local, and 
private sector initiatives and organizations) and initiatives (e.g. 
electronic health records, networks, the national health information 
infrastructure) to ensure the availability and utilization of expanded 
health data for public health purposes; (6) enhances the ability of 
public health officials to access and use data, information, systems, 
and technologies collected through traditional and non-traditional 
information systems, and through developing approaches to allow access 
while protecting privacy, confidentiality, and intellectual property 
rights; (7) enhances and maintains partnerships with other federal 
agencies, state and local public health departments, national 
organizations, health plans, care networks, and regional health 
information networks to meet public health informatics needs.
    Division of Knowledge Management Services (CPEC). (1) Identifies 
and assesses possible informatics solutions for knowledge management 
and pursues appropriate direction for the solution; (2) develops, 
implements, and maintains, knowledge management solutions that enable 
efficient delivery, sharing, collaboration, management, and 
presentation of information and knowledge; (3) develops, implements and 
maintains knowledge management solutions that enable efficient 
delivery, sharing, collaboration, management, and presentation of 
information and knowledge; (4) delivers credible, timely information 
from scientific and health literature to CDC scientists, the public 
health community, and the general public by delivering reference 
services and access to published resources, evaluating, acquiring, 
organizing and making available knowledge resources, and providing 
training and consultation in use of science and health literature.
    Division of Informatics Shared Services (CPED). (1) identifies 
needs and opportunities for components that can be utilized across 
multiple informatics solutions to ensure interoperability, integration 
and consistency and pursues appropriate direction for the solution 
(i.e., buy commercially available, re-use or build new); (2) develops, 
implements

[[Page 58425]]

and maintains underlying components that enable the integration of 
solutions which address cross-cutting CDC or partner objectives; (3) 
identifies the need and opportunities for components (e.g. messaging 
specification, vocabulary, public health directory, secure data 
transfer) that could be utilized across multiple informatics solutions 
to ensure interoperability, integration, and consistency; (4) manages 
and allocates shared contractor resources (e.g. security, usability, 
quality assurance testing, developers, database administrators); (5) 
manages umbrella contracting and other common carrier mechanisms to 
achieve information solutions; (6) develops standards, quality 
assurance procedures, and guidelines for effective and efficient 
approaches to applications development and database management.
    Division of integrated Surveillance Systems and Services (CPEE). 
(1) Identifies and assesses informatics solutions for integrated 
surveillance nationally and internationally and pursues appropriate 
direction for the solution; (2) develops, implements and maintains 
common platforms, enterprise-wide systems and applications for 
integrated solutions that address cross-cutting CDC or partner 
objectives; (3) develops, manages and supports integrated health 
surveillance, information and operational solutions to facilitate 
activities such as surveillance, lab reporting, analysis and tracking, 
visualization, reporting and inventory management.
    Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response (CPEG). (1) 
Identifies and assesses informatics solutions for emergency 
preparedness and response and pursues appropriate direction for the 
solution; (2) ensures that capacity exists for responding to urgent and 
emergent needs; (3) develops, manages, and supports emergency 
preparedness and response solutions to facilitate activities such as 
outbreak investigation, event detection and monitoring, and response 
(e.g. flu vaccine finder) and ensures capacity for responding to urgent 
and emergent needs; (4) develops and manages early disease detection 
and characterization systems, situational awareness systems and related 
analytic activities (e.g the biointelligence center, aberration 
detection algorithms).

    Dated: September 27, 2005.
William H. Gimson,
Chief Operating Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC).
[FR Doc. 05-20060 Filed 10-5-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-18-M