OHNews 2013 Readers Choice: Most visited 'Open Data' sources of Health Information

As we head towards the end of the year, the global 'Open Health' movement continues to grow and strengthen. Each month, the number of new 'open data' web sites and resources increases. Based on the number of hits by Open Health News (OHNews) readers on links to 'open data' sources of health information, the following are their top choices of interest:

  • Data.Gov – The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has provided open access to a wide range of health information & data sets that are posted on the Data.Gov web site.
  • Healthcare Cost & Utilizatio Project (HCUP) - Databases on healthcare cost & utilization maintained by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ).
  • Data Hub – A free, powerful data management platform from the Open Knowledge Foundation with over 9,000 datasets from around the world.
  • EuroStat - Providing data & statistics about the public and private sectors of the European Union (EU), including the healthcare industry.
  • Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) – Providing data and statistics on drug abuse and related information on treatment at hospital emergency departments across the U.S.
  • Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) - Providing access to a wide array public health data and statistics across the U.S.
  • National Vital Statistics System – The most successful example of inter-governmental Public Health data sharing in the U.S.
  • National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS) – A public health surveillance and data exchange maintained by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)
  • International HapMap Project – Providing data and information on genes that affect health, disease, and individual responses to medications and environmental factors.
  • Open Data Commons - Provide legal guidance and solutions related to 'open data'.
'Open Data' can be defined as selected data that should be made freely available to everyone to use and republish as they wish, without restrictions from copyright, patents or other excessive control mechanisms.

Other notable 'Open Data' sources of health information of interest to our readers include:

Which is your favorite source of 'open data' health information? Do you have another 'open data'web site or resource you would recommend to our readers?