HHS debuts quality indicator data portal
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched a web portal providing health and healthcare indicator data to support IT innovations. The Health Indicators Warehouse includes a vast collection of health and healthcare indicators along with technologies to support automated data services through application programming interfaces (APIs).
The portal and warehouse represent an important step toward data transparency and the agency’s commitment to its Open Government Plan and the Community Health Data Initiative, according to HHS.
The Health Indicators Warehouse is a collection of health indicators from a wide array of HHS data sources that are maintained to support researchers, technology developers and policymakers. Health indicators are measurable characteristics that describe:
Depending on the measure, a health indicator may be defined for a specific population, place, political jurisdiction or geographic area. All Health Indicators Warehouse indicators are downloadable via APIs, according to HHS.
“We recognize that one of the keys to better health and healthcare is data-driven decision-making at all levels and the HHS warehouse lowers the barrier for development of technologies to achieve this goal,” said Todd Park, HHS' chief technology officer.
In 2010, HHS demonstrated the value of these datasets in creating a wide array of web apps as part of the Community Health Data Initiative. In the coming months, HHS anticipates additional activities and projects to promote innovative uses of data and apps development to improve health and healthcare performance at the community level.
Click here for more information about the Health Indicators Warehouse.
The portal and warehouse represent an important step toward data transparency and the agency’s commitment to its Open Government Plan and the Community Health Data Initiative, according to HHS.
The Health Indicators Warehouse is a collection of health indicators from a wide array of HHS data sources that are maintained to support researchers, technology developers and policymakers. Health indicators are measurable characteristics that describe:
- The health of a population (e.g., life expectancy, mortality, disease incidence or prevalence or other health states);
- Determinants of health (e.g., health behaviors, health risk factors, physical environments and socioeconomic environments); and
- Healthcare access, cost, quality and use.
Depending on the measure, a health indicator may be defined for a specific population, place, political jurisdiction or geographic area. All Health Indicators Warehouse indicators are downloadable via APIs, according to HHS.
“We recognize that one of the keys to better health and healthcare is data-driven decision-making at all levels and the HHS warehouse lowers the barrier for development of technologies to achieve this goal,” said Todd Park, HHS' chief technology officer.
In 2010, HHS demonstrated the value of these datasets in creating a wide array of web apps as part of the Community Health Data Initiative. In the coming months, HHS anticipates additional activities and projects to promote innovative uses of data and apps development to improve health and healthcare performance at the community level.
Click here for more information about the Health Indicators Warehouse.