CDC Public Relations Contract

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

All reports, studies and analysis received by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from PRR, a public relations firm, between January 1, 2015 and March 30, 2017 that relate to the agency's opioid prescribing guidelines and/or its public image among pain patients and healthcare providers.

I ask that you also include the cost, invoices and contractual information related to these reports, studies and analysis prepared by PRR while under contract with the CDC.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Pat Anson

Dear Mr. Andoh,

Thank you for your prompt reply to my FOIA request (#17-00546-FOIA). In an effort to make my request less complex, I would like to amend and narrow its scope to the following:

All reports, studies and analyses received by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from PRR, a public relations firm, between January 1, 2015 and March 30, 2017 that relate to the agency's opioid prescribing guidelines and/or its public image among pain patients and healthcare providers.

At this time, I am no longer requesting invoices or contractual information related to PRR work for the CDC.

As a member of the news media, I request a waiver of all fees, as the requested information is in the public interest and will not be used for any commercial purpose. I have been reporting on issues involving the CDC's opioid prescribing guidelines, and this particular request will contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the CDC.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Pat Anson
Editor
Pain News Network
PainNewsNetwork.org

Request Number: 17-00546-FOIA

Dear Mr. Andoh,

Thank you for your reply to my FOIA request for "reports, studies and analyses received by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from PRR, a public relations firm, between January 1, 2015 and March 30, 2017 that relate to the agency's opioid prescribing guidelines and/or its public image among pain patients and healthcare providers."

I am somewhat confused by the 31 pages of documents that were provided, as there appears to be significant number of redacted pages in the report(s) without any explanation of what was redacted or why.

For example, the first 4 pages of a report by PRR subtitled "Task 1: Product Development" are included, but not Page 5, Pages 7-12, or Page 18.

I am then provided with Pages 113-118 of a PRR report subtitled "Optional Task 1: Partner Communications Assessment," but none of the other pages.

Is there a reason I was not provided with ALL of the pages from the PRR reports? I think everything that PRR prepared for CDC should be considered a record responsive to my FOIA request.

Sincerely,

Pat Anson
Pain News Network

Thanks for all your help, Mark.