What I have missed so far at the Health Datapalooza
I had all intentions of attending the Health Data Initiative forum this year but family matters have made that impossible. So what is it all about? HHS, the Institute of Medicine (IoM), and members of the Health Data Consortium are in DC yesterday and today for the third annual Health “Datapalooza“. The focus is on innovative applications and services that use open data from HHS and other sources to help improve health and health care. HHS is reporting more than ” 100 new or updated solutions, up from 45 solutions last year, that help serve the needs of consumers, health care providers, employers, public health leaders, and policy makers.” Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says the innovators at the forum “are a great example of how data and technology can be used in powerful ways to help consumers and providers improve health. We’re not just creating new technology, but we’re empowering Americans to make better decisions about health and health care by putting information at their fingertips.”
The forum sold out days ago. You can follow on Twitter #healthdata or even web conference in on some of the events. So here is what we missed yesterday.
Mary Mosquera at Government HealthIT reports and spotlights the public and private health innovations and sites CMS is ready and willing to make as much data publicly available as possible.
Over at GigaOM, Ki Mae Heussner is reporting on Symcat and “cyberchondria”. You know you look up all your symptom on The Google!
And this isn’t just for the unknowns and wannabes. MEDCity is reporting on big payer Aetna joining in with a new Rx reminder challenge with $75K to back it up.
The Wall Street Journal Market Watch issued a press release yesterday. At the Kaiser Permanente Center for Total Health in DC, Health 2.0 announced the winners for the Code-a-thon: Preventing Obesity. The event was sponsored by the ONC and Kaiser. Read about 1st place winner, School Fit and 2nd place Health Plate.
And what’s a Health Datapalooza without the White House and Bon Jovi? Yesterday’s White House blog reported the VA Deputy Secretary W. Scott Gould, Mr. Bon Jovi, and HUD Deputy Secretary Maurice Jones announced the finalists for Reach the Homeless Challenge. Project REACH (Real-time Electronic Access for Caregivers and the Homeless) is a collaboration of the VA, HUD, HHS, and the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation.