HHS Unveils National Health Data Initiative

WASHINGTON – Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Institute of Medicine President Harvey Fineberg today launched a national initiative to share community health data. The program is intended to drive innovation and lead to the creation of new applications and tools to improve the health of Americans.  

The Community Health Data Initiative (CHDI) will increase the amounts of federally generated community health data that will be made publicly available in easily accessible and useful formats. Secretary Sebelius announced that by the end of 2010, a new HHS Health Indicators Warehouse will be deployed online, providing currently available and new HHS data on national, state, regional, and county health performance – on indicators such as rates of smoking, obesity, diabetes, access to healthy food, utilization of health care services, etc. – in an easy-to-use “one stop data shop.” The Warehouse will also include information on proven ways to improve performance on particular indicators. Users will be able to explore all of this data on the Warehouse Web site, download any and all of it for free, and integrate it easily into their own Web sites and applications.

The Initiative envisions an expanding array of applications being built using HHS’ data, as well as data supplied by other sources. Community leaders, consumers, employers, providers, and others can choose among independently developed applications to help in health assessment, planning and action. The CHDI does not endorse particular applications, but rather enables their independent development through easier access to expanded, free data. Communities, professionals and consumers can then choose the applications they find most useful.

To learn more about the Community Health Data Initiative, please visit www.hhs.gov/open and http://www.hhs.gov/open/plan/opengovernmentplan/initiatives/initiative.html.

If you appreciated this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our FREE digital newsletters!

Leading in Turbulent Times: Effective Campus Public Safety Leadership for the 21st Century

This new webcast will discuss how campus public safety leaders can effectively incorporate Clery Act, Title IX, customer service, “helicopter” parents, emergency notification, town-gown relationships, brand management, Greek Life, student recruitment, faculty, and more into their roles and develop the necessary skills to successfully lead their departments. Register today to attend this free webcast!

Get Our Newsletters
Campus Safety Conference promo