At the recent Health Datapalooza Conference in Washington DC, State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah accepted the First Annual Data Liberation Award on behalf of the New York State Department of Health. The award recognizes the open data site Health Data NY (part of Governor Cuomo’s Open NY Initiative), which allows healthcare providers and consumers better access to state health data.
The site offers extensive raw data and public health messaging, along with allowing users to view and share data visualizations through social media. It should prove invaluable to consumers, researchers, and academics.
“Access to data is a cornerstone of our efforts to reform and improve healthcare delivery and public health, and New York has made great strides to develop a state health data site that is the best in the nation,” said Commissioner Shah.
The liberation of health information, which has previously been hard to find, will not only serve to improve the general level of patient engagement and care of those in New York State, but will help stimulate innovation.
The Commissioner continued: “The Data Liberation Award recognizes the leadership and commitment of Governor Cuomo to provide easy access to valuable, user-friendly data that can facilitate informed decision-making, cutting-edge research and innovation. New York is clearly demonstrating what is possible and other states are looking to emulate our efforts.”