Mobilizing Communities for Health: the Health Data Initiative

Aman Bhandari, US Govt amanbhandari@gmail.com / @Ghideas

Context: HHS Health Data

Policy + Platform: Open Gov

Case Study: Health Data Palooza

•  Prescription drug recall info •  Hospital comparisons •  Clinic and facility location •  Use of preventive services •  Summary measures of health •  Risk factors and access to care •  Measures of birth and death •  Food atlases •  Community health indicators •  Scientific publications

HHS Data: 80K Employees, $1B

+ Problem: Large amounts of data but little use or creative application

Open Gov: unprecedented initiative reflecting the President’s vision

Apps for Development Contest (data.worldbank.org)

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Harnessing the power of (health) data

Opportunity: Build innovative data driven applications, democratize data access & mobilize a community of users outside of government Supply Downloadable Data to the Market (NOAA of health data): http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/chdi.htm

Problem: Large amounts of data but with little use or creative application

Opportunity: Build innovative data driven applications & a community of users

1.  Publish  brand  new  HHS  data  for  public  access  –  while  rigorously  protec0ng  privacy  and  confiden0ality  

2.  Make  exis=ng  HHS  data  much  more  accessible  -­‐-­‐  “machine-­‐readable,”  accessible  via  applica0on  programming  interfaces  (APIs),  free,  much  easier  to  find  

3.  Energe=cally  publicize  our  data  to  innovators  -­‐-­‐  who  can  use  it  as  raw  material  to  develop  applica0ons  and  services  that  help  improve  health  and  health  care  

Health Data Initiative core activities: liberate data and catalyze innovation

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Buzz volume

Brainstorming: Harnessing the Power of Data to Improve Health

One Day: 50 health policy & tech developer experts !brainstorm, be inspired and drive action: •  Brainstorm most powerful and innovative ideas •  Form teams & commit to activating the best ideas within 90 days •  What started as a 1 day event has turned into a much broader effort

Health Policy Experts Tech Developers & Innovators

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Mission: Harness the power of community health data for the benefit of all Americans”. CHDI was launched on March 11th 2010 as an experiment in understanding how people might use the data being released.

HealthData.gov, the one-stop place to get all of our free, publicly available data, launched 2/2011

brainstorm ! commit ! implement & build

Examples of innovative applications developed in 90 days

How do you bring data to the fingertips of consumers?

Microsoft Bing announced its latest effort to bring CHDI to the public by incorporating Hospital Compare data into its search functionality

Challenge Example: How do you make raw data useful?

•  Winner of Blue Button challenge (www.health2challenge.org) •  Contest funded through partnership between RWJF and Markle Foundation

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Buzz volume

•  “Making community health info as useful as weather data” •  “Making Health Data Sing” •  Over 15 new or enhanced apps; 400 people in person, 300 online •  Cross sector teams formed; Innovation Expo

Product Launch: June 2nd HHS + IOM “Here Come the Health Apps!”

Showcased best “apps” with a tremendous response:

The goal: a self-propelled, open “ecosystem of innovation” using data to improve health

• Help  consumers  take  control  of  their  health  and  health  care  

• Help  employers  promote  health  and  wellness  

• Help  care  providers  deliver  beEer  care  

• Help  journalists  shed  light  • Help  local  leaders  make  beEer-­‐informed  decisions  

• Support  all  of  the  above  through  “data  intermediary”  services  

• And  much  more  

A  Rapidly  Growing  Array  of  Innova=ve  Products  and  Services  That:  

Health-Related Data from

FUELS

Publicizing our data to innovators across America

• Challenges  and  “code-­‐a-­‐thons”  (health2challenge.org)    • Many  innovator  “meetups”  and  conferences  

• Annual  “health  datapaloozas”  

Health Issues + Developers + Designers + Experts + 8 hours = Awesome

Form Teams ! Active Coding ! Prototype

HHS Team

Greg Downing Todd Park (@todd_park)

Aman Bhandari (@GHideas)

Additional Slides

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Buzz volume

How and where do you build community?

Launching an External Innovation Platform: www.health2challenge.org

• Partnered with Health 2.0 to launch a website to host challenges, innovation gallery and more

•  Launched with over 12 challenges sponsored by: the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Markle Foundation, California Health Care Foundation, HHS, Practice Fusion, West Wireless Health Institute and others.

•  Leverages power of prizes and challenges and team competitions

• Creates a “home” for a network of developers, government agencies, community organizations, foundations, and companies

• Creates an environment where events become “results engines”

• Over 12 challenges launched, 83 teams

•  5 in person code-a-thons with average of 120+ people, dozens of teams formed

•  Release Data: HHS, USG, Private Sector (Gallup, First DataBank)

•  Brainstorming (March 11th, 2010): Prestigious host: Institute of Medicine (IOM) Teams: mixture of start-ups, major companies, non-profits, individual innovators

•  Build Applications (June 2nd, 2010): IOM as host, HHS and White House as convener

•  Catalyze & Build Community: PPP with Health 2.0, IOM. Health 2.0 Developer Challenge launched 12 challenges with many partners; Code-a-thon partners include Google, HealthTap, Georgetown, Microsoft NERD, Make Magazine, others.

Design Framework (partnerships key to success):

Essential Ingredients of Success •  Team:

–  Dedicated team of 3 people with senior leadership support and vision

–  Strong project management skills and ability to connect across sectors

•  Brainstorming: –  Partnerships from the beginning with outside non-profits to help convene, network and create a

lightweight consortium and get people vested from the start –  Create mashups of experts and non-traditionalists who can build something

–  Open Framework: ask people to make a commitment and contribution to the public good

•  Building the Ecosystem and Community: –  Welcome everyone (the small guy: start-ups, non-profits, solo entrepreneurs) –  Provide a “home”: hhs.gov/open AND health2challenge.org

–  Use “Prizes and Challenges” to drive results and action and give new partners a channel to do something concrete (health2challenge.org)

–  Find a nimble/agile external group with a strong network (e.g. Health 2.0)

–  Use events to engage people (health innovation week, conferences) and create results (code-a-thons)

–  Find champions and create ambassadors (data and community ambassadors)

–  Tap into social media (twitter) and blogger/journalist leaders

What was the timeline?

CHDI data landing page March 2010 Brainstorming session (experts + innovators) March 2010 Product launch June 2010 Health2challenge.org July 2010 Code-a-thon at HealthTap Sept 2010 Code-a-thon at Google Oct 2010 Health Innovation Week: Announce challenge winners Oct 2010 HealthData.gov launch Jan 2011 Code-a-thon at Georgetown Feb 2011

What did we accomplish? •  Created dozens of health applications •  Created a diverse community of data suppliers & data users

–  Private sector has come forward to contribute data

•  Created partnerships –  HHS and Institute of Medicine (IOM) –  HHS and Health 2.0 –  Foundations and private sector companies and Health 2.0

•  Created Challenge Platform (with Health 2.0): www.health2challenge.org –  Platform to launch online challenges (over 12 challenges including Blue Button) –  Network of developers –  Network of funders, teams, innovators –  In person code-a-thons

•  Created www.HealthData.gov

How did CHDI work?

Community Building

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Product Launch

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Challenge: Agencies are putting out large amounts of data. How to translate this raw information into useful knowledge and tools?

Solution: Convene the data-savvy community with passion for the topic.

Elements of CHDI •  STEP 1: Publish raw data online in one place •  STEP 2: Convene subject matter and data rock stars along with technology

experts and innovators to brainstorm creative uses •  STEP 3: Commit to a major event (in front of the Secretary) to showcase the

tools built using the data •  STEP 4: Partner from the beginning, build an external platform, host smaller

future events (code-a-thons) to build a movement