Health APIs
Health and fitness data
This directory lists 23 health APIs. 5 of them require no API key and support CORS, so you can call them directly from browser JavaScript with no backend and no sign-up. Every entry shows whether it needs authentication, serves over HTTPS and allows cross-origin requests, so you can pick one that fits your stack before you read a single doc page.
Best Health and Fitness APIs for Developers
A health API allows developers to integrate medical information, fitness tracking, drug databases, clinical data, and wellness metrics into their applications. These APIs serve healthcare apps, fitness trackers, and medical research platforms.
For live official data, openFDA and NPPES are strong picks: free US government APIs needing no account, openFDA for drug and device records, NPPES for provider lookups. FoodData Central gives free USDA nutrition data behind a simple key, and Open Data NHS Scotland publishes CKAN datasets under an open license with no key at all.
The main pitfall is freshness: most COVID-19 trackers wrap the Johns Hopkins CSSE dataset, which stopped updating in March 2023, so their totals are frozen, and several community wrappers built on it have since been archived. Check the update date first. For policy data, the Oxford Government Response Tracker is a solid, openly licensed source, while platforms like Orion Health or Infermedica suit clinical teams, since they require a sandbox request first.
What to check before you pick one
- Data authority: Prefer APIs sourced from official bodies like the FDA, WHO, or NIH for reliable medical information.
- Privacy compliance: For apps handling personal health data, ensure the API provider is HIPAA-compliant and offers a BAA.
- Update frequency: Drug and clinical trial databases update regularly; confirm the API reflects current information.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are health APIs?
Health APIs provide programmatic access to medical information, fitness tracking data, drug databases, clinical trial records, workout plans, and wellness metrics for healthcare and fitness applications.
Are there free medical information APIs?
Yes. The OpenFDA API from the US FDA provides free access to drug labels, adverse event reports, and medical device data. The National Library of Medicine also offers free clinical APIs.
Are health APIs HIPAA compliant?
HIPAA compliance applies to APIs handling Protected Health Information (PHI). For apps processing real patient data, you need a HIPAA-compliant API provider with a signed BAA. Many general health APIs that deal with anonymous data do not require HIPAA compliance.