CONSUMER HEALTH INFORMATICS TOOLS

CONSUMER HEALTH INFORMATICS TOOLS Objective: Evaluate consumer health informatics tools. VI.8. Assess consumer engagement activities. (5) What is Consumer Health Informatics? Consumer Health Informatics couples the consumers’ needs for information with their healthcare preferences to create a tailor-made medical experience. . Any electronic tool, technology, or system that is designed to interact with health information users or health information consumers. . Any tool into which a patient inputs their health information and receives a body of health information. . A tool or system where information or other benefits may be used with the assistance of a healthcare professional but doesn’t necessarily depend on a healthcare professional. Examples of applications include disease management, lifestyle management, tracking observations of daily living, health promotion, self-care, and caregiving. Also electronic "personal health records" and "patient portals" are tools used by consumers. CHI has the potential as a tool to enhance health promotion and provide a way for healthcare professionals to increase patient engagement. DISCUSSION: Compare the different means that physicians have to communicate with patients electronically. What are the advantages and disadvantages? Is there a gap between what the patient wants and what the physician is willing or able to provide? I