According to the Pew Foundation’s "Internet in American Life Study," over 60 million Americans per year use the Internet to search for health information. All those concerned with healthcare and how to obtain personally relevant medical information form a large additional target group Many Medical Informatics programs–both in the United States and abroad–include a course in Consumer Health Informatics as part of their curriculum. This book, designed for use in a classroom, will be the first textbook dedicated solely to the specific concerns of consumer health informatics Consumer Health Informatics is an interactive text; filled with case studies and discussion questions With international authorship and edited by five leaders in the field, Consumer Health Informatics has tapped some of the best resources in informatics today

This innovative reference examines how consumer health informatics (CHI) can transform healthcare systems stressed by staffing shortages and budget constraints and challenged by patients taking a more active role in their care. It situates CHI as vital to upgrading healthcare service delivery, detailing the relationship between health information technologies and quality healthcare, and outlining what stakeholders need to learn for health IT systems to function effectively. Wide-ranging content identifies critical issues and answers key questions at the consumer, practitioner, administration, and staff levels, using examples from diverse conditions, countries, technologies, and specialties. In this framework, the benefits of CHI are seen across service domains, from individual patients and consumers to healthcare systems and global health entities. Included in the coverage: Use of video technology in an aged care environment A context-aware remote health monitoring service for improved patient care Accessibility issues in interoperable sharing of electronic health records: physician’s perspective Managing gestational diabetes with mobile web-based reporting of glucose readings An organizing vision perspective for developing and adopting e-health solutions An ontology of consumer health informatics Contemporary Consumer Health Informatics combines blueprint and idea book for public health and health informatics students, healthcare professionals, physicians, medical administrators, managers, and IT practitioners.