Feds Look to Health Data Analytics for Innovation Help

Walker Duncan | Nashville Post | November 6, 2011

It’s rare to hear someone refer to a conference presentation from a government bureaucrat as “a treat.” But, that is just how numerous observers have described a recent speech by Todd Park, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ “Entrepreneur in Residence” and chief technology officer.

Park, who spoke recently to a crowd of 350 or so health care players and Owen Graduate School of Management students at a Nashville Health Care Council event, is leading an HHS initiative to unlock a treasure trove of data and make it available to the public in the hope that collective intelligence can prove more effective than conventional government fixes.

“I appreciated the chance to meet up with the Nashville health care community,” Park said later. “There is a lot of energy and creativity exhibited by entrepreneurs and leaders across the community, and I look forward to see how they’ll work with open HHS data to help improve health care.”