HHS provides health data, help online

A forum in Washington Tuesday featured more than 100 new or updated solutions to harness health data to improve healthcare, a top U.S. official said. Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said data found in the Healthcare.gov Insurance Options Finder is now available through an application programming interface enabling the data to be machine readable and downloaded by third-party developers. The Insurance Options Finder allows users to compare different plans, showing important information, such as the percentage of people who applied for coverage and were denied, Sebelius said. HealthCare.gov collects and displays public options, private insurance plans for individuals and families as well as the small group markets, Sebelius added. "The innovators present today are a great example of how data and technology can be used in powerful ways to help consumers and providers improve health," Sebelius said in a statement regarding the Health Data Initiative Forum III, dubbed "Datapalooza." "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 Office for the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology led a national competition to promote the creation of easy-to-use, Web-based tools that help patients schedule follow-up appointments after being discharged from a hospital stay. First place went to MyHealthDIRECT, a Web-based solution that enables patients and caregivers to search for, book and confirm appointments, and includes reminder and transportation reservation functionality.