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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

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FY 2003 OHIP Annual Report - Teleconference/Video Production

OHIP operates an ALL DIGITAL broadcast quality television studio on behalf of CDRH and FDA. The studio is a uniquely powerful tool for outreach on a wide variety of topics. The primary medium for outreach has become production and presentation of “live teleconferences,” although we continue doing videotaped programming on a limited basis.
Goals
  1. To provide the infrastructure and expert knowledge needed to effectively use audio and video in support of CDRH, FDA and other government public health programs.
  2. To evaluate, recommend and support new techniques and technologies for improving training, education and information exchange.

The television studio continues to provide excellent value to CDRH and FDA. Studio operations and capital expenditures, other than personnel costs, are completely funded by chargebacks to the other components of FDA and other government agencies sponsoring the programming. As a result, during FY 2003;

  • CDRH programming was produced with minimal program dollars.
  • The same facilities and equipment used for teleconferences and video production were available to CDRH for other purposes:
    • we produced a total of 32 teleconferences for FDA and other government agencies on a wider variety of topics;
    • we provided technical video support for Center-sponsored medical device panel meetings;
    • we provided video documentation of critical CDRH meetings and training events; and
    • we provided 8 hours of mission-related programming every day to CDRH employees via the CDRH fiber-optic network, including 32 educational and training programs received live via satellite and delivered simultaneously.

Our website for television and video services continues to be a comprehensive source of information regarding our television and related video services. It provides up-to-date information on television programs currently in production, programs scheduled for broadcast, and opportunities to secure programs previously broadcast. It also provides other PHS agencies with a greater understanding of the facilities and services available to them.

Another important feature of our website is a “program calendar” that provides information about, and serves as a marketing tool for, individual CDRH/FDA teleconferences. The program calendar:
  • notifies a potential audience of a scheduled event;
  • creates a temporary data base of downlink sites;
  • rovides answers to frequently asked questions related to downlink operations;
  • allows for interactive exchange both before and after the distance learning broadcast; and
  • results in a database that significantly enhances our ability to accurately target marketing information for all programming activities.

Also during FY 2003:

  • We completed a six year, 1.5 million dollar conversion of the studio from analog to digital. All funds for the conversion were secured through chargebacks for programming – no direct cost to CDRH. Digital conversion was driven by the state of technology, the alternative would have been an outdated technical plant that would prove very costly to maintain. Our all digital output means that programming can be distributed via any digital medium – broadcast TV, satellite, internet, CDROMS, etc.
  • Production of FDA Patient Safety News (PSN) continued into its second year. FDA PSN is a monthly video news show for health care personnel, carried on satellite broadcast networks aimed at hospitals and other medical facilities across the country. It features information on new drugs, biologics and medical devices, on FDA safety notifications and product recalls, and on ways to protect patients when using medical products. FDA PSN has made significant progress in the past year.
  • Starting with the November 2002 show (#10), PSN realized its goal of incorporating all medical product centers into the program. CBER and CDER have been active partners and have made significant contributions to the program. PSN also has been able to occasionally include stories from other FDA centers. For example, it recently completed a story from CFSAN on the new trans-fatty acid labeling. In February 2004, PSN will reach the two year mark with episode # 24.
  • The show is distributed to 4 health TV networks – with a combined reach of nearly 4,500 hospitals. More importantly, the program has a website where viewers can view either the entire show or just a select story, find more information on each story, search for previous stories, e-mail stories to colleagues, report adverse events (through a link to MedWatch) and sign-up for the PSN listserv. The PSN website is currently receiving over 4,000 hits each month. The webcast center, where viewers can watch the whole show or just a select story, currently receives over 2,500 requests per month.
  • We have completed the work necessary to assure that, starting with the November 2003 show, viewers will be able to download a video story to their own computer, network, or even a DVD – for viewing immediately or at a later time. PSN has received numerous requests for video copies of stories for use during staff meetings and in-services. This capability will allow users to download high-resolution mpeg files that can be played back either on a computer or TV
  • We continued a series of broadcasts to all FDA employees featuring the FDA Commissioner. This series of programs, titled “A Conversation with the Commissioner”, allows timely information to be imparted as well as interactive communication between the commissioner and any guests appearing on the program and the FDA workforce. These programs are also made available on the FDA website as archived media for viewing at any time from the employee’s desktops.
  • We continue to explore, evaluate and implement new tools and technologies that allow information and educational programming to be delivered to CDRH employees either individually, in groups of varying sizes, interactively, and/or on an “as-needed” basis. Our mechanisms of delivery have expanded beyond videotape to include CD-Rom, DVD, and streaming media.
  • On-location video recordings of lectures, panel discussions, training classes, and other informational programs were used in a variety of training and learning situations, including rebroadcast to all CDRH staff.
  • We continued our working partnership with the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) to provide training and other programming on a wide variety of FDA issues.
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