Consumer health informatics

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Patient-driven healthcare models that take into account the ability of the patient to communicate, track, and learn more about their health history are slowly emerging.

Consumer health informatics (CHI) is a branch of health informatics (also known as "medical informatics") that focuses on "consumer interests and is about providing the consumer with the right tools, skills, support and knowledge to better manage their healthcare."^[1] The primary difference between health informatics and CHI isn't so much the technology as it is whose use it serves: health informatics applications typically focus on the healthcare provider while CHI applications focus on the patient or health care customer.

History

The terminology of "consumer health informatics" likely came about in July 1993 during a conference in Wisconsin for consumer health IT developers. Organized by Tom Ferguson, Don Kemper, and Bill Hettler, the conference — "Consumer Health Informatics: Bringing the Patient into the Loop" — used the term in the name, brochure, and proceedings.^[2] However, the seeds for the term originated out of the consumerism of the 1980s, which prompted patients to more proactively participate in their own healthcare and disease management.^[1]^[3] As the Internet and Web 1.0 evolved in the mid- to late 1990s, static websites like HealthInsite.com^[4] appeared promoting healthcare and providing prevention schemes to consumers. Despite its promise, researchers still lamented several problems with the process, including low health literacy, limited Internet access, limited relevant high-quality information, poorly organized information, and the continued prevalence of traditional consumer-provider interactions.^[5]

As Web 2.0 arrived in late 2004, a richer user experience with more dynamic, scalable content was provided to web users seeking health information.^[1] Also during this time consumers' desire to more readily access an integrated health profile drove the further development of the electronic health record^[3] and the personal health record, a healthcare portal offered by a health care professional that often synchronizes to the EHR.^[1]

Informatics

Online-accessible personal health records, credential-backed health forums, and patient- and doctor-to-patient social networks are a few examples of consumer health informatics tools.^[1]^[6]