> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.dataplex-consulting.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.dataplex-consulting.com/guides/guides.md).

# Healthcare Data Guides

Comparison guides for healthcare data buyers: free federal sources vs. analytics-ready datasets for CMS, NPI, and FDA data on Snowflake and Databricks.

These guides compare the ways to get public healthcare data into an analytics platform: the free federal downloads and APIs, and the analytics-ready datasets on Snowflake Marketplace and Databricks. Each guide opens with a short answer, compares the options side by side, and says when the free source is the right choice.

| Guide                                                                                                     | Question it answers                                                           |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [CMS Provider Data on Snowflake: Free vs. Paid](/guides/guides/cms-provider-data-snowflake-options.md)    | How do you get CMS Medicare and provider data into Snowflake?                 |
| [openFDA vs. FDA AEMS for Drug Safety](/guides/guides/openfda-vs-fda-aems-drug-safety-analytics.md)       | Should drug safety analytics run on the openFDA API or a SQL dataset?         |
| [NPI Provider Data: Options Compared](/guides/guides/npi-provider-data-snowflake-databricks.md)           | What are the options for NPI provider data, raw or enriched?                  |
| [FDA Drug Safety Data: Free vs. Commercial](/guides/guides/fda-drug-safety-data-free-vs-paid.md)          | What free and commercial sources of FDA adverse event data exist?             |
| [Healthcare Data on Snowflake Marketplace](/guides/guides/healthcare-data-snowflake-marketplace-guide.md) | What healthcare data is on Snowflake Marketplace, and how do you evaluate it? |

For product specifications, schemas, and sample queries, see the [Data Catalog](/data-catalog/data-catalog.md).


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the following URL with the `ask` and `goal` query parameters:

```
GET https://docs.dataplex-consulting.com/guides/guides.md?ask=<question>&goal=<user_goal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is what the user is ultimately trying to achieve, the reason they need the answer. Sharing it helps GitBook give you a better, more relevant answer. A goal is most helpful when it describes the outcome the user wants rather than restating the question. For example, with `ask=how do I create an API token`, a goal like `automate deployments from our CI pipeline` lets GitBook tailor the answer to that use case.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.