Liberated Health Data A Catalyst to Innovation

The chief technology officer for HHS said efforts to liberate health records and data within the federal space will spur innovation in the public and private sectors that improves Americans' health and health care.

Speaking at a conference on federal technology and innovation in Washington, D.C., Todd Park told the audience that Health and Human Services and its sister agencies are committed to becoming "the NOAA of health data," referring to the way weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has unleashed an industry of weather service providers.

"The whole point of this is not to publish data but to be a catalyst of innovation," he said from the Warner Theater stage. "It's a ton of fun. We'll save the world with health data and create jobs."...