Consumer Health Informatics Paper

As patients become more responsible for managing an increasing volume of health information, including their medical history, lab results, and medications, new consumer health information technology (health IT) applications are being developed that allow patients to manage, share, and control their health  information electronically and to assume a more active role in the management of their health. Consumer Health Informatics Paper

While the term “consumer health IT applications” is not yet well-defined, in general, it refers to a wide range of hardware, software, and Web-based applications that allows patients to participate in their own health care via electronic means.  The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) has developed a working definition for the field of consumer health informatics stating that it is “a subspecialty of medical informatics which studies from a patient/consumer perspective the use of electronic information and communication to improve medical outcomes and the health care decision-making process.” [1]Consumer Health Informatics Paper  In addition, as defined by Eysenbach, the study of consumer health informatics includes analyzing consumers’ information needs, studying and implementing methods of making information accessible to consumers, and modeling and integrating consumers’ preferences into medical information systems. [2]