The HHS Chief Technology Officer recently published a comprehensive report exploring the challenges for sharing data between HHS agencies. The project developed the first comprehensive “HHS Data Sharing Report” led by HHS Chief Data Officer Dr. Mona Siddiqui. HHS staff interviewed agency leaders and staff from eleven HHS agencies on the challenges and opportunities in sharing data between agencies.
Data is shared across twenty nine distinct agencies across HHS every day. However, the data is largely kept in silos with a lack of awareness of what data is collected across the Department and how to request access.
The report highlights opportunities for improvement so that HHS can become a more data driven organization. According to the report:
- HHS lacks a consistent transparent and standardized protocol for inter-agency data sharing
- Across the federal government, there is a growing consensus around the value of data governance to minimize costs and maximize efficiency
- Technology formats and approaches to sharing restricted and nonpublic data across agencies varies widely
- Analytical tools used to interpret data can be redundant.
- Changes need to be made to the statutes, regulations, and policies that govern the collection and access to the data
- Fear of misrepresenting the data is problematic
Go to https://www.hhs.gov/idealab/data-insights to view the full report titled “The State of Data Sharing at the U.S Department of Health and Human Services” published by the Data Initiative Team within the Office of the Chief Technology Officer.