Health and Human Services’ IDEA Lab just launched a new beta version of its HealthData.gov site, the agency’s central repository for open data.
The new beta launch redesigned the five-year-old site with a crisper interface, better search tools and access to more data sets and an API. As the site is refined and updated, HHS plans to add new features, as well, like a data set previewer and visualization options.
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“We really want to create an ability for people to use the data and not have to be a data scientist to do so,” said Damon Davis, director of the IDEA Lab Health Data Initiative.
With open data mandates from the administration, the proliferation of independent users wanting access to government data and increased collection at departments and components, the HHS repository has grown to more than 2,000 data sets.
“That volume of a data catalog really does require a cleaner user experience above all else,” Davis said. “We’re also going to try to focus in on the domains of our data — the types — so we can organize the site along some of the focal points.”
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The data sets don’t include personal information on individuals but do contain important health data from across the federal government, as well as some state and local data. All sets are processed before being published to ensure there isn’t any personal information and maintain quality standards.
Davis said he has already seen some impressive applications using the data, with a wealth of demos presented at the sixth annual Health Data Palooza in Washington, D.C., this week.
“There are folks that are very, very focused on genomics; folks that are focused on the cancer patient population and how they can drive people toward trials and research; there’s just such a wide array of positive disruptions,” he said.
So far, feedback on the beta site has been unanimously positive, Davis said, though IDEA Labs is looking for constructive input for future iterations.
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“We’re doing some usability tests with people who are familiar with the platform in its previous form and folks who are not necessarily familiar,” he said. “We’re asking how does this look and feel to you, what are some of the options you wish you’d see that you don’t or what are some of the things that you like that you wish we would continue to do.”
Davis said he hopes the site is used to create new, innovative apps, discover previously unseen trends, spur new economies and overall improve the state of health care in America.
“We’re trying to create a better experience with government data than you’ve had from HHS before,” he said. “More than anything else we’re continuing to push hard on data openness and transparency and embrace the idea of transparency as an opportunity … to do all kinds of innovative and creative things with the data.”
