HHS Health Data Initiative and the Health Datapalooza

This year’s Health Datapalooza will be held on June 5-6, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. The event will feature exciting new products, services, applications, and features based on open source health data. Entrepreneurs across the country are submitting their innovations to be judged by panels comprised of health care professionals, community leaders, and consumers. The best inventions will be showcased during the event. It’s an exciting opportunity for entrepreneurs and a great way for pharmacists to stay on top of the next big thing in the healthcare data industry.

Last year’s event demonstrations included:

• Castlight Health debuted an app that allows the consumers and healthcare providers reduce healthcare costs by shedding light on the wide variations in cost, quality, and convenience options. This app puts healthcare information in the hands of the patient to help them make informed decisions about the best care at the most affordable price. Information includes plan benefits, deductible and other out-of-pocket costs, doctor, lab, and clinic options.
• Healthagen’s iTriage connects symptoms, diseases, procedures, medications, treatment, with every nationwide healthcare provider for easy reference and quick diagnostic help. Users can enter symptoms, identify possible causes, and find an appropriate local doctor or healthcare provider.
• Lumeris’ Maestro is a powerful program that allows plan providers, hospitals, medical groups, and individual physicians to identify opportunities and strategies to improve the quality and lower the cost of health care. This web software aggregates clinical and financial data and enhances collaboration between payers and health care providers.
• The MedWatcher app (currently available for the iPhone and iPad) is designed to improve drug safety by providing current safety advisories with an interactive reporting tool for users to submit adverse reactions. This app could prove absolutely invaluable to pharmacists.
• Ozioma is an online software designed to aggregate and disseminate local health information. Users can search for more than sixty reliable health sources—including the CDC-for easy-to-understand bytes to share with the public.

Speakers and programs

In addition to the debut of exciting new data products, Datapalooza will feature a number of programs and speakers, including keynote speakers: United States Chief Technology Officer Todd Park; HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius; the executive editor of Wired Magazine and author of The Decision Tree: Taking Control of Your Health in the New Era of Personalized Medicine Thomas Goetz; lung transplant surgeon and Senator Bill Frist; and the CEO of Aetna Inc., Mark Bertolini. A packed schedule includes other speakers, demonstrations, breakout sessions, and panel discussions.

For more information or to register, visit the Health Data Initiative Web page. It should be exciting to see the new and innovative products representing the future direction of healthcare.