Dive Brief:
- OpenFDA will make it easier for the public and Web developers to access health datasets.
- The initiative will be facilitated by the use of a structured, computer-readable format.
- The underlying technology is a search-based Application Program Interface (API) that makes it possible to share large amounts of data.
Dive Insight:
A presidential order focused on "building a 21st Century platform to better serve the American people" is driving FDA's initiatve to make health data available to the public. After researching which datasets are in heavy demand, FDA has decided to launch the portal with reports of drug adverse events and medication errors from 2004 to 2013. Drug recall information and more documentation are expected in the short term.