Opening government health data to the public: benefits, challenges, and lessons learned from early innovators.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Government agencies are rapidly developing web portals to proactively publish "open" data that are searchable, available in nonproprietary formats, and with unlimited use and distribution rights. In this dynamic environment, we aimed to understand the experiences of 2 early leaders in open health data, the US Department of Health and Human Services and the New York State Department of Health.

Materials and methods

Semistructured interviews with 40 practitioners and policymakers elicited value propositions, capabilities required for successful open data programs, and strategies for improving impact and sustainability. Transcripts were analyzed using a grounded theory approach to identify common perspectives and divergent viewpoints.

Results

Respondents were o

SUBMITTER: Martin EG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7651893 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature