Data Coalition Endorses Bipartisan Health STATISTICS Act

On Friday, August 21, Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA), Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA), Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-18) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced the bipartisan Health Standards to Advance Transparency, Integrity, Science, Technology Infrastructure, and Confidential Statistics Act of 2020 (Health STATISTICS Act). Data Coalition CEO Nick Hart issued the following statement on the bill’s introduction:

The pandemic highlights something we have known for years – that our country’s data infrastructure needs continuous improvement and resources to adjust to emerging priorities. The lack of certain health data standards limits our ability to reliably and meaningfully use data to generate insights for decision-makers inside and outside government. The bipartisan Health STATISTICS Act promotes the rapid adoption and use of existing data standards created by industry and non-profit partners, while also planning for future data innovation. The Data Coalition is pleased to endorse the Health STATISTICS Act legislation that will ultimately support evidence-based decision-making, higher quality open data, and responsible data sharing. The Data Coalition members look forward to rapid advancement of this important legislation that will result in much-needed and long-overdue improvements to public health data standards.