“The Department of Health and Human Services is increasing its focus on social determinants of health to address unmet health needs through a multi-sector, complex approach.”
“’We’re focusing on how we can look outside the health care setting and hear from multiple programs to improve health outcomes and lives of the American citizens we serve,’ said Kristen Honey, chief data scientist and senior advisor at HHS. ‘Data and interoperability can advance equity and bridge disparities in health.'”
“One program the department launched to align with its open data priorities is HHS Protect, the agency’s COVID-19 biosurveillance system that has served as a common vantage point for what’s been happening in the U.S. regarding COVID-19 over the past year…”
“Not only is HHS working to uncover new data, but also the department and its partner agencies are transforming data to make it understandable to guide decision-making. Honey said that as HHS analyzes data, it derives novel insights and connects different divisions to find innovations at the crosscut…”
“HHS launched a collaborative effort with its internal partners to create a whole-of-department approach to its data collection efforts. The team has taken a three-pronged approach: developing a data pipeline, creating an open data ecosystem and building trust…” Read the full article here.
Source: HHS is Tailoring Data Efforts to Address Social Determinants of Health – By Sarah Sybert, July 21, 2021. GovernmentCIO.
