JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Rapid digitalisation has led to the generation of vast volumes of health data. However, it often remains fragmented across multiple domains and systems.

Objective:

This review examines publicly available health data portals and assesses their scope, user engagement features, and implementation of interoperability standards.

Methods:

We conducted a structured desk review to profile publicly available health data portals. Portals were identified through systematic web searches, expert consultation using the Delphi technique and snowballing from initial sources. Each portal was assessed for the type of data hosted, the scope of user engagement and the implementation of interoperability standards.

Results:

Seventeen portals were identified and reviewed in this study. Nearly half hosted global-level data across diverse domains, including communicable and non-communicable diseases, maternal and child health, injuries, and others. Most portals supported basic user interactions such as data querying and downloading, but none offered in-platform analytics. While a few portals employed ICD coding systems, none implemented standard ontologies such as SNOMED CT or FHIR.

Conclusions:

Our review highlights substantial fragmentation and a lack of interoperability across health data portals, which limits the ability to conduct integrated analysis and obtain comprehensive public health insights. Realising the full potential of health data will require accessibility and interoperability, intelligent analytics and seamless integration across domains.