Public Health Service

[For the Public Health Service statement of organization, see the Federal Register of December 2, 1977, 42 FR 61317]

The Public Health Service was established by act of July 16, 1798 (ch. 77, 1 Stat. 605), authorizing marine hospitals for the care of American merchant seamen. Subsequent legislation has vastly broadened the scope of its activities.

The Public Health Service Act of July 1, 1944 (42 U.S.C. 201), consolidated and revised substantially all existing legislation relating to the Public Health Service. The basic Public Health Service legal responsibilities have been broadened and expanded many times since 1944. Major organizational changes have occurred within the Public Health Service to support its mission to promote the protection and advancement of the Nation's physical and mental health. This is accomplished by:

coordinating with the States to set and implement national health policy and pursue effective intergovernmental relations;
generating and upholding cooperative international health-related agreements, policies, and programs;
conducting medical and biomedical research;
sponsoring and administering programs for the development of health resources, prevention and control of diseases, and alcohol and drug abuse;
providing resources and expertise to the States and other public and private institutions in the planning, direction, and delivery of physical and mental health care services; and
enforcing laws to assure the safety and efficacy of drugs and protection against impure and unsafe foods, cosmetics, medical devices, and radiation-producing projects.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health consists of general and special staff offices that support the Assistant Secretary for Health and the Surgeon General plan and direct the activities of the Public Health Service.

Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. The Agency was established by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 299) as the successor to the National Center for Health Services Research and Health Care Technology Assessment. The Agency is the Federal Government's focal point for health services research. The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research is the only Federal agency charged with producing and disseminating scientific and policy-relevant information about the quality, medical effectiveness, and cost of health care. The Agency's programs focus on maximizing the value of our national health care investment by analyzing the costs and improving the outcomes of health care. Its priorities include:

reducing health care costs, through studies on the interaction of cost, quality, and access; microsimulation modeling, to understand the effect of proposed health care reform; and analyzing health care costs effected by acute, ambulatory, and long-term care and AIDS;
expanding clinical practice guideline activities by increasing production of important guidelines and evaluating their effect on the cost and quality of health care; and
enhancing the scientific evidence base for cost-effective clinical practices, by expanding research to improve clinical decisionmaking and strengthening clinical information systems for effectiveness research.

The Agency supports and conducts research integral to understanding the design and performance of the health care delivery system, and undertakes widespread dissemination of the results of its research and clinical guidelines it supports. The emphasis on widespread and rapid dissemination and research on more effective dissemination methods reflects the goal of the Agency to enhance the value of our national investment in health care.

The Agency plays an important role in increasing possibilities for future health services research, including medical effectiveness research through its support for methodological studies; data development and research training particularly, related to primary care; and minority and rural health. The Agency also has an active program in medical liability.

For further information, call 301 - 227 - 8364.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), established as an operating health agency within the Public Health Service by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare on July 1, 1973, is the Federal agency charged with protecting the public health of the Nation by providing leadership and direction in the prevention and control of diseases and other preventable conditions and responding to public health emergencies. It is composed of 10 major operating components: Epidemiology Program Office, International Health Program Office, Public Health Practice Program Office, National Center for Prevention Services, National Center for Environmental Health, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, National Center for Infectious Diseases, and the National Center for Health Statistics.

The Agency administers national programs for the prevention and control of communicable and vector-borne diseases and other preventable conditions. It develops and implements programs in chronic disease prevention and control, including consultation with State and local health departments. It develops and implements programs to deal with environmental health problems, including responding to environmental, chemical, and radiation emergencies.

The Agency directs and enforces foreign quarantine activities and regulations; provides consultation and assistance in upgrading the performance of public health and clinical laboratories; organizes and implements a National Health Promotion Program, including a nationwide program of research, information, and education in the field of smoking and health. It also collects, maintains, analyzes, and disseminates national data on health status and health services.

To ensure safe and healthful working conditions for all working people, occupational safety and health standards are developed, and research and other activities are carried out, through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

The Agency also provides consultation to other nations in the control of preventable diseases, and participates with national and international agencies in the eradication or control of communicable diseases and other preventable conditions.

For further information, call 404 - 639 - 3286.

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry was established as an operating agency within the Public Health Service by the Secretary of Health and Human Services on April 19, 1983. The Agency's mission is to carry out the health-related responsibilities of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601), as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (42 U.S.C. 6901), and provisions of the Solid Waste Disposal Act relating to sites and substances found at those sites and other forms of uncontrolled releases of toxic substances into the environment. The Agency provides leadership and direction to programs and activities designed to protect both the public and workers from exposure and/or the adverse health effects of hazardous substances in storage sites or released in fires, explosions, or transportation accidents.

To carry out this mission, the Agency, in cooperation with States and other Federal and local agencies:

collects, maintains, analyzes, and disseminates information relating to serious diseases, mortality, and human exposure to toxic or hazardous substances;
establishes appropriate registries necessary for long-term followup or specific scientific studies;
establishes and maintains a complete listing of areas closed to the public or otherwise restricted in use because of toxic substance contamination;
assists, consults, and coordinates with private or public health care providers in the provision of medical care and testing of exposed individuals;
assists the Environmental Protection Agency in identifying hazardous waste substances to be regulated;
develops scientific and technical procedures for evaluating public health risks from hazardous substance incidents and for developing recommendations to protect public health and worker safety and health in instances of exposure or potential exposure to hazardous substances; and
arranges for program support to ensure adequate response to public health emergencies.

For further information, call 404 - 639 - 0727.

Food and Drug Administration.

The name "Food and Drug Administration" was first provided by the Agriculture Appropriation Act of 1931 (46 Stat. 392), although similar law enforcement functions had been in existence under different organizational titles since January 1, 1907, when the Food and Drug Act of 1906 (21 U.S.C. 1 - 15) became effective.

The Food and Drug Administration's activities are directed toward protecting the health of the Nation against impure and unsafe foods, drugs and cosmetics, and other potential hazards.

Office of Operations. The Office:

advises and assists the Commissioner and other key officials on compliance-oriented matters;
develops and administers all agency field operations and provides direction and counsel to regional Food and Drug Directors;
administers regulation of biological products under the biological product control provisions of the Public Health Service Act and applicable provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act;
works to develop an AIDS vaccine and AIDS diagnostic tests, and conducts other AIDS-related activities;
develops and administers programs with regard to the safety, effectiveness, and labeling of all drug products for human use;
develops and administers programs with regard to the safety, composition, quality (including nutrition), and labeling of foods, food additives, colors, and cosmetics;
develops and administers programs for controlling unnecessary exposure of humans to, and assures the safe and efficacious use of, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation-emitting electronic products;
develops and administers programs with regard to the safety, effectiveness, and labeling of medical devices for human use; and
develops and administers programs with regard to the safety and effectiveness of animal drugs, feeds, feed additives, veterinary medical devices (medical devices for animal use), and other veterinary medical products.

The Office of Operations includes the Office of Regulatory Affairs, the regional field offices, the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, the Center for Devices and Radiological Health, the Center for Veterinary Medicine, the National Center for Toxicological Research, the Office of AIDS Coordination, the Office of Orphan Products Development, and the Office of Biotechnology.

Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. The Center develops Administration policy with regard to the safety, effectiveness, and labeling of all drug products for human use and reviews and evaluates new drug applications and investigational new drug applications. It develops and implements standards for the safety and effectiveness of all over-the-counter drugs and monitors the quality of marketed drug products through product testing, surveillance, and compliance programs.

The Center coordinates with the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research regarding activities for biological drug products, including research, compliance, and product review and approval, and develops and promulgates guidelines on Current Good Manufacturing Practices for use by the drug industry. It develops and disseminates information and educational material dealing with drug products to the medical community and the public in coordination with the Office of the Commissioner. It conducts research and develops scientific standards on the composition, quality, safety, and effectiveness of human drugs; collects and evaluates information on the effects and use trends of marketed drug products; monitors prescription drug advertising and promotional labeling to assure their accuracy and integrity; and analyzes data on accidental poisonings and disseminates toxicity and treatment information on household products and medicines.

In carrying out these functions, the Center cooperates with other components of the Administration, other Public Health Service organizations, governmental and international agencies, volunteer health organizations, universities, individual scientists, nongovernmental laboratories, and manufacturers of drug products.

For further information, call 301 - 443 - 2894.

Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. The Center administers regulation of biological products under the biological product control provisions of the Public Health Service Act and applicable provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. It provides dominant focus in the Administration for coordination of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) program, works to develop an AIDS vaccine and AIDS diagnostic tests, and conducts other AIDS-related activities. It inspects manufacturers' facilities for compliance with standards, tests products submitted for release, establishes written and physical standards, and approves licensing of manufacturers to produce biological products.

The Center plans and conducts research related to the development, manufacture, testing, and use of both new and old biological products to develop a scientific base for establishing standards designed to ensure the continued safety, purity, potency, and efficacy of biological products and coordinates with the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research regarding activities for biological drug products, including research, compliance, and product review and approval.

The Center plans and conducts research on the preparation, preservation, and safety of blood and blood products, the methods of testing safety, purity, potency, and efficacy of such products for therapeutic use, and the immunological problems concerned with products, testing, and use of diagnostic reagents employed in grouping and typing blood.

For further information, call 301 - 295 - 9000.

Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. The Center conducts research and develops standards on the composition, quality, nutrition, and safety of food and food additives, colors, and cosmetics. It conducts research designed to improve the detection, prevention, and control of contamination that may be responsible for illness or injury conveyed by foods, colors, and cosmetics and coordinates and evaluates the Administration's surveillance and compliance programs relating to foods, colors, and cosmetics.

The Center also reviews industry petitions and develops regulations for food standards to permit the safe use of color additives and food additives; collects and interprets data on nutrition, food additives, and environmental factors affecting the total chemical result posed by food additives; and maintains a nutritional data bank.

For further information, call 202 - 205 - 4943.

Center for Veterinary Medicine. The Center develops and conducts programs with respect to the safety and efficacy of veterinary preparations and devices; evaluates proposed use of veterinary preparations for animal safety and efficacy; and evaluates the Administration's surveillance and compliance programs relating to veterinary drugs and other veterinary medical matters.

For further information, call 301 - 827-3800.

Center for Devices and Radiological Health. The Center develops and carries out a national program designed to control unnecessary exposure of humans to, and ensure the safe and efficacious use of, potentially hazardous ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. It develops policy and priorities regarding Administration programs relating to the safety, effectiveness, and labeling of medical devices for human use; conducts an electronic product radiation control program, including the development and administration of performance standards.

The Center plans, conducts, and supports research and testing relating to medical devices and to the health effects of radiation exposure; and reviews and evaluates medical devices premarket approval applications, product development protocols, and exemption requests for investigational devices. It develops, promulgates, and enforces performance standards for appropriate categories of medical devices and Good Manufacturing Practice regulations for manufacturers; and provides technical and other nonfinancial assistance to small manufacturers of medical devices.

The Center develops regulations, standards, and criteria and recommends changes in Administration legislative authority necessary to protect the public health; provides scientific and technical support to other components within the Administration and other agencies on matters relating to radiological health and medical devices; and maintains appropriate liaison with other Federal, State, and international agencies, with industry, and with consumer and professional organizations.

For further information, call 301 - 443 - 4690.

National Center for Toxicological Research. The Center conducts research programs to study the biological effects of potentially toxic chemical substances found in the environment, emphasizing the determination of the health effects resulting from long-term, low-level exposure to chemical toxicants and the basic biological processes for chemical toxicants in animal organisms; develops improved methodologies and test protocols for evaluating the safety of chemical toxicants and the data that will facilitate the extrapolation of toxicological data from laboratory animals to man; and develops Center programs as a natural resource under the National Toxicology Program.

For further information, call 501 - 543 - 7304.

Regional Operations. Field operations for the enforcement of the laws under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration are carried out by 6 Regional Field Offices located in the cities of the Department's Regional Offices, through 21 District Offices and 135 Resident Inspection Posts located throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.

For further information, call 301 - 443 - 1594. For a listing of Public Affairs Offices, see page 323.

Office of Policy. The Office directs and coordinates the agency's rulemaking activities and regulations development system; initiates new and more efficient systems or procedures to accomplish agency goals in the rulemaking process and plans regulatory reform steps; and serves as the agency's focal point for developing and maintaining communications, policies, and programs with regard to regulations development and international harmonization, including international standard setting and bilateral agreements on inspections.

The Office of Policy includes the Policy Development and Coordination Staff, Policy Research Staff, and Regulations Policy and Management Staff.

Office of External Affairs. The Office:

advises and assists the Commissioner concerning legislative needs;
serves as the focal point for overall legislative liaison activities;
advises and assists the Commissioner and other key officials on all public information programs;
acts as the focal point for disseminating news on FDA activities;
advises and assists the Commissioner on health issues which have an impact on policy, direction, and long-range program goals;
coordinates agency relations with health professional groups and represents the agency on issues involving technology assessment and medical insurance coverage decisions regarding FDA-regulated products;
advises and assists the Commissioner on consumer affairs issues;
serves as the agency's focal point for coordinating information from appropriate agency components about significant consumer affairs issues;
advises and assists the Commissioner and other agency officials on industry-related issues which have an impact on policy, direction, and goals; and
serves as the agency's focal point on small business, scientific, and trade affairs.

The Office of External Affairs includes the Office of Consumer Affairs, the Office of Health Affairs, the Office of Legislative Affairs, the Office of Public Affairs, and the Office of Small Business, Scientific, and Trade Affairs.

Office of Management and Systems. The Office:

advises and assists the Commissioner regarding the performance of FDA resource planning, development, and evaluation activities;
develops program and planning strategy through analysis and evaluation of issues affecting policies and program performance;
assures that the conduct of agency administrative and financial management activities, including budget, finance, personnel, organization, methods, grants and contracts, procurement and property, records, and similar support activities effectively supports program operations;
coordinates the integration and development of management information systems; and
advises the Commissioner on management information systems policies.

The Office of Management and Systems includes the Office of Planning and Evaluation and the Office of Management.

Health Resources and Services Administration. The Administration has leadership responsibility in the Public Health Service for general health services and resource issues relating to access, equity, quality, and cost of care.

To accomplish this goal, the Administration:

supports States and communities in their efforts to plan, organize, and deliver health care, especially to underserved area residents, migrant workers, mothers and children, the homeless, and other groups with special needs;
participates in the Federal campaign against AIDS by funding service demonstration projects in major cities, establishing centers to train health professionals serving AIDS patients, supporting renovation of health facilities for AIDS patients, and awarding pediatric health care grants;
provides leadership in improving the education, distribution, quality, and use of the health professionals needed to staff the Nation's health care system;
tracks the supply of and requirements for health professionals and addresses their competence through the development of a health practitioner data bank;
monitors developments affecting health facilities and ensures that previously aided institutions honor their commitments to provide uncompensated care;
administers the National Organ Transplant Act by serving as an information resource on donation, procurement, and transplantation and by promoting other activities designed to increase the availability of organs and tissues;
provides direct, personal health services for Hansen's disease patients and other designated beneficiaries;
assists Federal managers to assure that employees and workplace health factors that increase the Government's productivity are raised to the highest practical level;
monitors rural health issues and helps coordinate government and private efforts on behalf of rural health facilities;
processes claims submitted under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program;
strengthens the public health system by working with State and local public health agencies;
oversees management of the Federal initiative to combat infant mortality through grants to hard-hit communities working to overcome social and non-financial barriers to prenatal care; and
coordinates health program activities that address the special needs and problems of minority populations.

For further information, contact the Associate Administrator for Communications. Phone, 301 - 443 - 2086.

Major Components:

Bureau of Primary Health Care. The Bureau serves as a national focus for efforts to ensure the availability and delivery of health care services in health-professional shortage areas, to medically underserved populations, and to those with special needs.

To accomplish this goal, the Bureau:

provides, through project grants to community-based organizations, funds to meet the health needs of populations in medically underserved areas by supporting the development of primary health care delivery capacity;
provides, through project grants to State, local, voluntary, public, and private entities, funds to help them meet the health needs of special populations such as migrants, Alzheimer's disease patients, the homeless, AIDS victims, Pacific Basin inhabitants, Native Hawaiians, residents of public housing projects, and victims of black lung disease;
administers the National Health Service Corps Program, which recruits and places highly trained health care practitioners for health-professional shortage areas and populations;
administers the National Health Service Corps Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs, which provide financial assistance to medical, dental, and nursing students or former students in return for service in health- professional shortage areas;
designates health-professional shortage and medically underserved areas and populations;
provides leadership and direction for the Bureau of Prisons Medical Program, the National Hansen's Disease Program, and support for Health Unit No. 1 and the CHAMPUS Program;
provides on a reimbursable basis comprehensive occupational health consultation and assistance to Federal agencies to enhance productivity and limit employment-related liability through the Federal Employee Occupational Health Program; and
administers a comprehensive health program for designated PHS beneficiaries, including active duty members of PHS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

For further information, contact the Public Affairs Officer. Phone, 301 - 443 - 4814.

Bureau of Health Professions. The Bureau provides national leadership in coordinating, evaluating, and supporting the development and utilization of the Nation's health personnel. To accomplish this goal, the Bureau:

serves as a focus for health care quality assurance activities, issues related to malpractice, and operation of the National Practitioner Data Bank and the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program;
supports through grants health professions and nurse training institutions, targeting resources to areas of high national priority such as disease prevention, health promotion, bedside nursing, care of the elderly, and HIV/AIDS;
funds regional centers that provide educational services and multidisciplinary training for health professions faculty and practitioners in geriatric health care;
supports programs to increase the supply of primary care practitioners and to improve the distribution of health professionals;
develops, tests, and demonstrates new and improved approaches to the development and utilization of health personnel within various patterns of health care delivery and financing systems;
provides leadership for promoting equity in access to health services and health careers for the disadvantaged;
administers several loan programs supporting students training for careers in the health professions and nursing;
funds regional centers to train faculty and practicing health professionals in the counseling, diagnosis, and management of HIV/AIDS infected individuals;
collects and analyzes data and disseminates information on the characteristics and capacities of U.S. health training systems;
assesses the Nation's health personnel force and forecasts supply and requirements; and
serves as a focus for technical assistance activities in the international projects relevant to domestic health personnel problems in coordination with the Office of the Administrator, Health Resources and Services Administration.

For further information, contact the Information Officer. Phone, 301 - 443 - 2060.

Bureau of Health Resources. Development The Bureau develops, coordinates, administers, directs, monitors, and supports Federal policy and programs pertaining to health care facilities; a national network of activities associated with organ donations, procurements, and transplants; and activities related to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). This includes financial, capital, organizational, and physical matters.

To accomplish this goal, the Bureau:

provides national leadership in supporting, identifying, and interpreting national trends and issues relative to the health status of persons with AIDS and HIV infections, including availability of facilities and services for AIDS and AIDS-related patients -- as well as the needy and indigent; and administers block and discretionary grants, contracts, and funding arrangements designed to address those issues;
administers grant, loan guarantee, and interest subsidy programs relating to the construction, modernization, conversion, and closure of health care organizations;
develops long- and short-range program goals and objectives for health facilities and for specific health promotions, organ transplants, trauma care, and AIDS activities;
develops, conducts, and maintains grant programs to States, cities, and gateway.html private entities for organ procurement organizations (OPO's);
serves as adviser to and coordinates activities with other Administration organizational elements, other Federal organizations within and outside the Department, State and local governments, and professional and scientific organizations;
develops, promotes, and directs efforts to improve the management, operational effectiveness, and efficiency of health care systems, organizations, and facilities;
provides technical assistance to States, cities, gateway.html organizations, OPO's, and health care delivery systems and facilities in a wide variety of specific technical and technological systems;
administers the Health Resources and Service Administration's regional facility engineering and construction activities;
maintains liaison and coordinates with non-Federal public and private entities to accomplish the Bureau's mission and objectives; and
designs and implements special epidemiological and evaluation studies regarding the impact of Bureau health care programs and the characteristics of the populations served.

Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The Bureau develops, administers, directs, coordinates, monitors, and supports Federal policy and programs pertaining to health and related care for the Nation's mothers and children. Programs administered by the Bureau address the full spectrum of primary, secondary, and tertiary care services and related activities conducted in the public and private sector which impact upon maternal and child health.

To accomplish this goal, the Bureau:

provides national leadership in supporting, identifying, and interpreting national trends and issues relating to the health needs of mothers, infants, children (both normal and with special health care needs), and administers State block and discretionary grants, contracts, and funding arrangements designed to address these issues;
administers grant, contracts, and other funding arrangements and programs under title V of the Social Security Act, as amended, relating to implementation of State maternal and child health (MCH) service programs, research, training, and education programs located in institutions of higher learning and State and local health agencies and organizations involved in the care of mothers and children;
administers grants, contracts, and other funding arrangements under title III of the Public Health Service Act for care and improvement of the health status of pediatric AIDS patients;
administers grants, contracts, and other funding arrangements under title V of the Social Security Act, as amended, relating to the care of persons affected by hemophilia (regardless of age);
administers grants and contracts under title XIX of the Public Health Service Act relating to pediatric emergency medical systems development and care improvement;
develops, promotes, and directs efforts to improve the management, financing, operational effectiveness and efficiency of health care systems and the Healthy Start Initiative to reduce infant mortality, organizations, and providers of maternal and child health and related care;
serves as the principal adviser to and coordinates activities with other Administration organizational elements, other Federal organizations within and outside the Department, and with State and local agencies and professional and scientific organizations;
provides technical assistance and consultation to the full spectrum of primary, secondary, and tertiary MCH agencies and organizations in both the public and private sector; and
maintains liaison and coordinates with non-Federal public and private entities to accomplish the Bureau's mission and objectives.

For further information, contact the Information Officer. Phone, 301 - 443 - 3376.

Indian Health Service. The Indian Health Service provides a comprehensive health services delivery system for American Indians and Alaska Natives with opportunity for maximum tribal involvement in developing and managing programs to meet their health needs. The Service's goal is to raise the health status of American Indians and Alaska Natives to the highest possible level.

To carry out its mission and to attain its goal, the Service:

assists American Indian tribes in developing their health programs through activities including health management training, technical assistance, and human resource development;
facilitates and assists Indian tribes in coordinating health planning, in obtaining and utilizing health resources available through Federal, State, and local programs, in operating comprehensive health programs, and in health program evaluation;
provides comprehensive health care services, including hospital and ambulatory medical care, preventive and rehabilitative services, and development of community sanitation facilities; and
serves as the principal Federal advocate for American Indians in the health field to assure comprehensive health services for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

For further information, contact the Information Coordinator. Phone, 301 - 443 - 3593.

National Institutes of Health. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the principal biomedical research agency of the Federal Government. Its mission is to pursue knowledge to improve human health. To accomplish this goal, the Institute seeks to expand fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems, to apply that knowledge to extend the health of human lives, and to reduce the burdens resulting from disease and disability. In the quest of this mission, NIH supports biomedical and behavorial research domestically and abroad, conducts research in its own laboratories and clinics, trains promising young researchers, and promotes acquiring and distributing medical knowledge. Focal points have been established to assist in developing NIH-wide goals for health research and research training programs related to women and minorities, coordinating program direction, and ensuring that research pertaining to women's and minority health is identified and addressed through research activities conducted and supported by NIH. Research activities conducted by NIH will determine much of the quality of health care for the future and reinforce the quality of health care currently available.

Major Components:

National Cancer Institute. Research on cancer is a high priority program as a result of the National Cancer Act, which made the conquest of cancer a national goal. The Institute developed a National Cancer Program to expand existing scientific knowledge on cancer cause and prevention as well as on the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of cancer patients.

Research activities conducted in the Institute's laboratories or supported through grants or contracts include many investigative approaches to cancer, including chemistry, biochemistry, biology, molecular biology, immunology, radiation physics, experimental chemotherapy, epidemiology, biometry, radiotherapy, and pharmacology. Cancer research facilities are constructed with Institute support, and training is provided under university-based programs. The Institute, through its cancer control element, applies research findings as rapidly as possible in preventing and controlling human cancer.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 5737.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The Institute provides leadership for a national program in diseases of the heart, blood vessels, blood, and lungs, and in the use of blood and the management of blood resources.

It conducts studies and research into the clinical use of blood and all aspects of the management of blood resources, and supports training of manpower in fundamental science and clinical disciplines for participation in basic and clinical research programs relating to heart, blood vessel, blood, and lung diseases.

It coordinates with other research institutes and with all Federal agency programs relating to the above diseases, including programs in hypertension, stroke, respiratory distress, and sickle cell anemia.

The Institute plans, conducts, fosters, and supports an integrated and coordinated program of research, investigations, clinical trials and demonstrations relating to the causes, prevention, methods of diagnosis and treatment (including emergency medical treatment) of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases through research performed in its own laboratories and through contracts and research grants to scientific institutions and to individual scientists.

The Institute also conducts educational activities, including the collection and dissemination of educational materials about these diseases, with emphasis on the prevention thereof, for health professionals and the lay public, and maintains continuing relationships with institutions and professional associations and with international, national, and State and local officials, and voluntary agencies and organizations working in these areas.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 2411.

National Library of Medicine. The Library, which serves as the Nation's chief medical information source, is authorized to provide medical library services and on-line bibliographic searching capabilities, such as MEDLINE, TOXLINE, and others, to public and private agencies and organizations, institutions, and individuals. It is responsible for the development and management of a Biomedical Communications Network, applying advanced technology to the improvement of biomedical communications, and operates a computer-based toxicology information system for the scientific community, industry, and other Federal agencies. Through its National Center for Biotechnology Information, the Library has a leadership role in developing new information technologies to aid in the understanding of the molecular processes that control health and disease. In addition, the Library acquires and makes available for distribution audiovisual instructional material, and develops prototype audiovisual communication programs for the health educational community. Through grants and contracts, the Library administers programs of assistance to the Nation's medical libraries that include support of a Regional Medical Library network, research in the field of medical library science, establishment and improvement of the basic library resources, and supporting biomedical scientific publications of a gateway.html nature.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 6308.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The Institute conducts, fosters, and supports basic and clinical research into the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the various metabolic and digestive diseases. It covers the broad areas of diabetes, blood, endocrine, and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases and nutrition; and kidney and urologic diseases, joined with the Artificial Kidney/Chronic Uremia Program, through research performed in its own laboratories and clinics, research grants, individual and institutional research training awards, applied research and development programs through the contract mechanisms, field epidemiologic and clinical investigation studies on selected populations in the United States, and collection and dissemination of information on Institute programs.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 5741.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The Institute conducts and supports broadly based research and research training on the causes, characteristics, prevention, control, and treatment of a wide variety of diseases believed to be attributable to infectious agents, including bacteria, viruses, and parasites, to allergies, or to other deficiencies or disorders in the responses of the body's immune mechanisms. Among areas of special emphasis are: asthma and allergic disease, clinical immunology, including organ transplantation, venereal diseases, hepatitis, influenza and other viral respiratory infections, disease control measures, research and development, antiviral substances, and hospital-associated infections.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 5717.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The Institute conducts and supports biomedical and behavioral research on child and maternal health; on problems of human development, with special reference to mental retardation; and on family structure, the dynamics of human population, and the reproductive process. Specific areas of research include pediatric and maternal AIDS, genetic diseases, short stature, premature puberty, infertility, minority health, learning disabilities such as dyslexia, sexually transmitted diseases, and the causes of infant morbidity and mortality -- including low birth weight, premature birth, and sudden infant death syndrome. The Institute recently added a National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research, which conducts and supports research and research training related to the rehabilitation of people with physical disabilities. Research-related findings are disseminated to other researchers, medical practitioners, and the general public to improve the health of children and families.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 5133.

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. The Institute conducts and supports research and training with respect to disorders of hearing and other communication processes, including diseases affecting hearing, balance, voice, speech, language, taste, and smell through a diversity of research performed in its own laboratories; a program of research grants, individual and institutional research training awards, career development awards, center grants, and contracts to public and private research institutions and organizations.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 7243.

National Institute of Dental Research. The Institute supports and conducts clinical and laboratory research directed toward the ultimate eradication of tooth decay and of a broad array of oral-facial disorders.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 6621.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The Institute, located in Research Triangle Park, NC, conducts and supports fundamental research concerned with defining, measuring, and understanding the effects of chemical, biological, and physical factors in the environment on the health and well-being of man.

For further information, call 919 - 541 - 3212.

National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The emphasis of the Institute's programs for support of research and research training is basic biomedical science. The activities range from cell biology to genetics to pharmacology and systemic response to trauma and anesthesia.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 7714.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The Institute conducts and supports fundamental and applied research on human neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, head and spinal cord injuries, and stroke. The Institute also conducts and supports research on the development and function of the normal brain and nervous system in order to better understand normal processes relating to disease states.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 5751.

National Eye Institute. The Institute conducts and supports fundamental studies on the eye and visual system, and on the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of visual disorders.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 7425.

National Institute on Aging. The Institute conducts and supports biomedical and behavioral research to increase the knowledge of the aging process and associated physical, psychological, and social factors, resulting from advanced age. Incontinence, menopause, susceptibility to diseases, and memory loss are among the areas of special concern.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 5345.

National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The Institute conducts and supports biomedical and behavioral research, health services research, research training, and health information dissemination with respect to the prevention and treatment of alcohol abuse and alcoholism, and provides a national focus for the Federal effort to increase knowledge and promote effective strategies to deal with health problems and issues associated with alcohol abuse and alcoholism.

For further information, call 301 - 443 - 3885.

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. The Institute conducts and supports fundamental research in the major disease categories of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases through research performed in its own laboratories and clinics, epidemiologic studies, research contracts and grants, and cooperative agreements to scientific institutions and to individuals. It supports training of manpower in fundamental sciences and clinical disciplines, conducts educational activities, including the collection and dissemination of health educational materials on these diseases, and coordinates with the other research institutes and with all Federal health programs relevant activities in the categorical diseases.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 4353.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. The Institute provides national leadership and conducts and supports biomedical and behavioral research, health services research, research training, and health information dissemination with respect to the prevention of drug abuse and the treatment of drug abusers.

For further information, call 301 - 443 - 6480.

National Institute of Mental Health. The Institute provides leadership for a national program to increase knowledge and advance effective strategies to deal with problems and issues in the promotion of mental health, and the prevention and treatment of mental illness.

For further information, call 301 - 443 - 3673.

Clinical Center. The Center is designed to bring scientists working in the Center's laboratories into close proximity with clinicians caring for patients, so that they may collaborate on problems of mutual concern. The research institutes select patients, referred to the National Institutes of Health by physicians throughout the United States and overseas, for clinical studies of specific diseases and disorders. A certain percent of the patients are ``normal volunteers,'' healthy persons who provide an index of normal body functions against which to measure the abnormal. Normal volunteers come under varied sponsorship, such as colleges, civic groups, and religious organizations.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 3227.

Fogarty International Center. The Center promotes discussion, study, and research on the development of science internationally as it relates to health and administers a number of international programs for advanced study in the health sciences.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 4625.

National Center for Human Genome Research. The Center provides leadership for and formulates research goals and long-range plans to accomplish the mission of the Human Genome Project, including the study of ethical, legal, and social implications of human genome research. Through grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and individual and institutional research training awards, the Center supports and administers research and research training programs in human genome research and the systematic, targeted effort to create detailed maps of the genomes of organisms. It provides coordination of genome research, both nationally and internationally; serves as a focal point within NIH and the Department for Federal interagency coordination and collaboration with industry and academia; and sponsors scientific meetings and symposia to promote progress through information sharing. Through its Division of Intramural Research (DIR), the Center plans and conducts a program of laboratory and clinical research related to the application of genome research to the understanding of human genetic disease and the development of DNA diagnostics and gene therapies. DIR maintains facilities that serve as a resource for the entire NIH intramural research community and collaborates with other NIH institutes and centers and external research institutions.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 0844.

National Center for Nursing Research. The Center fosters, conducts, supports, and administers research and research training programs aimed at promoting the growth and quality of research related to nursing and patient care and expanding the pool of experienced nurse researchers.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 0523.

Division of Computer Research and Technology. The Division conducts an integrated research, developmental, and service program in computer-related physical and life sciences in support of Institute biomedical research programs.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 5206.

National Center for Research Resources. The Center administers, fosters, and supports research for the development and support of various research resources needed on an institutional, regional, or national basis for health-related research. Programs are carried out through research grants and individual and institutional research training awards; cooperation and collaboration with organizations and institutions engaged in multicategorical research resource activities; and collection and dissemination of information on research and findings in these areas. The Center oversees a centralized program of intramural research resources through the planning, performance, and reporting of research projects.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 5605.

Division of Research Grants. The Division provides staff support to the Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health, in the formulation of grant and award policies and procedures, central receipt of all Public Health Service applications for research and research training support, and makes initial referral to Service components.

For further information, call 301 - 496 - 7881.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides national leadership to ensure that knowledge, based on science and state-of-the-art practice, is effectively used for the prevention and treatment of addictive and mental disorders. SAMHSA strives to improve access and reduce barriers to high-quality, effective programs and services for individuals who suffer from or are at risk for these disorders, as well as for their families and communities.

Major Components:

Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) provides a national focus for the Federal effort to prevent alcohol and other drug abuse. In carrying out its responsibility, the Center:

develops, implements, and reviews prevention and health promotion policy related to alcohol and other drug abuse, analyzing the impact of Federal activities on State and local governments and private program activities;
provides a national focus for the Federal effort to demonstrate and promote effective strategies to prevent the abuse of alcohol and other drugs;
supports innovative comprehensive, collaborative, community-based prevention demonstration programs;
operates grant programs for projects to demonstrate effective models for the prevention and early intervention of alcohol and drug use/abuse among high-risk youth, and other specific target populations, including those within the workplace;
sponsors regional and national workshops and conferences on the prevention of alcohol and other drug abuse;
supports training for substance abuse practitioners and other health professionals involved in alcohol and drug abuse education, prevention, and early intervention;
provides technical assistance to States and local authorities and other national organizations and groups in the planning, establishment, and maintenance of substance abuse prevention efforts;
reviews and approves or disapproves the State Prevention Plans developed under the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Program authority;
serves as a national authority and resource for the development and analysis of information relating to the prevention of abuse of alcohol and other drugs;
participates in the dissemination and implementation of research findings by PHS agencies on the prevention of the abuse of alcohol and other drugs;
collaborates with and encourages other Federal agencies and national, State, and local organizations to promote substance abuse prevention activities;
provides and promotes the evaluation of individual projects, as well as overall programs; and
collaborates with the alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health institutes of the National Institutes of Health on service research issues, as well as on other programmatic issues.

Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. The principal function of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) is to provide national leadership for the Federal effort to enhance approaches and expand programs focusing on the treatment of substance abusers, as well as associated problems of physical illness and co-morbidity. In carrying out its responsibility, the Center:

collaborates with States, communities, health care providers, and national organizations to upgrade the quality of addiction treatment, to improve the effectiveness of substance abuse treatment programs, and to expand addiction treatment capacity;
provides financial assistance to targeted geographic areas to increase treatment programs for substance abuse and other related disorders, and to strengthen the collaboration among the members of the substance abuse treatment community;
provides a focus for addressing the treatment needs of individuals with multiple drug, alcohol, physical, and co-morbidity problems;
administers a demonstration grant for projects that will implement and evaluate the Comprehensive Residential Drug Prevention and Treatment Program for substance-abusing women and their children;
coordinates the evaluation of the Center's drug treatment programs, such as the Comprehensive Residential Drug Prevention and Treatment Program for substance-abusing women and their children;
collaborates with the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the States to promote the development of treatment outcome standards;
collaborates with the Office of the Administrator and other SAMHSA components in treatment data collection;
administers programs for the training of health and allied health care providers;
promotes mainstreaming of alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health treatment into the health care system;
administers the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Program, including compliance reviews, technical assistance to States, Territories, and Indian tribes, and the application and reporting requirements related to the block grant programs;
establishes an advisory council which provides advice, consultation, and recommendations concerning activities and policies carried out by the Center; and
collaborates with alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health institutes within NIH on service research issues, as well as on other programmatic issues.

Center for Mental Health Services. The Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) provides national leadership to ensure the application of scientifically established findings and practice-based knowledge in the prevention and treatment of mental disorders; to improve access, reduce barriers, and promote high-quality, effective programs and services for people with or at risk for such disorders, as well as for their families and communities; and to promote the rehabilitation of people with mental disorders. To accomplish its mission, the Center:

supports service and demonstration programs designed to improve access to care, quality of treatment, rehabilitation, prevention, and related services, especially for those traditionally underserved or inadequately served;
identifies national mental health goals and develops strategies to meet them;
designs and supports evaluations, assessments, and service research activities to assist States, communities, and providers;
supports activities to improve the administration, availability, organization, and financing of mental health care;
supports technical assistance activities to educate professionals, consumers, family members, and communities, and promotes training efforts to enhance the human resources necessary to support mental health services;
collects data on the various forms of mental illness, including data on treatment programs, type of care provided, characteristics of those treated, prevalence, and such other useful data;
administers Community Mental Health Services block grants and other programs providing direct assistance to States;
collects, synthesizes, and disseminates mental health information and research findings to States and other governmental and mental health-related organizations, and the public;
collaborates with other Federal, State, and sub-State units of government and the private sector to improve the system of treatment and social welfare supports for seriously mentally ill adults and severely emotionally disturbed children and adolescents;
conducts activities to promote advocacy, self-help, and mutual support and to ensure the legal rights of mentally ill persons, including those in jails and prisons; and
collaborates with the alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health institutes of NIH on service research issues, as well as on other programmatic issues.

Office of Management, Planning, and Communications. The Office of Management, Planning, and Communications (OMPC) serves as the focal point for management, planning, and communications functions in support of SAMHSA components. In carrying out its responsibility, the Office:

develops policies, guidelines, and procedures concerning SAMHSA-wide administrative management;
conducts SAMHSA's activities in the areas of: financial management; management analysis and services; grants and contracts management and services, including cost advisory services; information systems, including computer support and ADP systems; personnel management; and general administrative services, including procurement and material management;
conducts studies and analyses of SAMHSA-wide policies and programs;
provides SAMHSA-wide correspondence control services;
analyzes legislative issues, develops policy- and position-related papers, and maintains liaison with congressional committees;
develops SAMHSA-wide program plans, including annual short- and long-term plans, and conducts, analyzes, and supports planning activities;
manages SAMHSA-wide intergovernmental and international activities and constituent relations;
organizes and administers SAMHSA's communications and public affairs activities;
conducts outreach to the media and related organizations to facilitate coverage and interpretation of SAMHSA's programs and objectives;
provides a mechanism for clearance and review of SAMHSA-wide communications, education, and information projects and related activities;
reviews and approves all SAMHSA publications, press releases, audiovisuals, and other materials intended for public dissemination and serves as clearance liaison with the public affairs offices of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and the Department;
collects and compiles alcohol and other drug abuse prevention literature and other materials, and supports the CSAP National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information and the Regional Alcohol and Drug Awareness Resource Network to disseminate such materials among States, political subdivisions, educational agencies and institutions, health and drug treatment and rehabilitation networks, and the general public;
supports a clearinghouse to serve as a focal point for information dissemination that will meet the mental health service needs of professionals; and
coordinates SAMHSA's implementation of the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act to ensure appropriate responses to requests for agency documents and records.

Last revised: March 29, 2005

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