Consumer Health Informatics

Catherine Arnott Smith, PhD, is a Professor in the Information School and a Discovery Fellow, Virtual Environments Group, Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a former medical librarian who moved into biomedical informatics for her PhD through the Center (now Department) of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Pittsburgh (2002), where she was a National Library of Medicine medical informatics predoctoral trainee. Her research centers on consumer interactions with clinical information systems, mediated through text, in settings that range from patient portals to public libraries to disabilities support centers.Alla Keselman, PhD, is a Senior Social Science Analyst in the Office of Engagement and Training, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD. She holds a PhD in human cognition and learning and an MA in biomedical informatics from Columbia University. Dr. Keselman coordinates NLM efforts in evaluating the impact of its health information outreach and community engagement programs. Her research interests include lay understanding of complex health concepts, scientific literacy, and the provision of health information outside clinical settings. She has done work on bringing health and environment-related topics to the science classroom and conducted research into the role of libraries in providing health information to the public.

“An engaging introduction to an exciting multidisciplinary field where positive impact depends less on technology than on understanding and responding to human motivations, specific information needs, and life constraints”-- Betsy L. Humphreys, former Deputy Director, National Library of MedicineMatthew H Tepper, BS(Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine)**Description**This book explains how consumers of healthcare can use health informatics anddigital health to take a more active role in their medical care. The first partexplains that healthcare is changing, allowing patients to take on moreresponsibility for their health, and describes common problems consumersencounter when looking for information and how consumers can best search forinformation online. The second part goes into specifics about the differentdigital health tools consumers can use to take a more active role in their healthcare.**Purpose**The purpose is to discuss the core concepts of consumer health informatics,including a comprehensive summary of current knowledge and recent developmentsin the field. The authors encourage consumers to use informatics to take a moreactive role in their healthcare outside of the clinical setting. These areworthy objectives considering medicine is shifting away from medicalpaternalism and towards patient empowerment; at the same time, digital healthis becoming more accessible and user friendly. These objectives are thoroughlymet in this book.**Audience**The authors broadly state this book is for people who want to design or promoteinformation technology that helps people be more active and informedparticipants in their healthcare. Additionally, this book may be of interest toinformed patients or to medical providers looking to help their patients take amore active role in their healthcare. Both authors have a background in health informatics.**Features**The six chapters in the first part focus on the foundations of consumer healthinformatics. This part establishes that there has been a shift to participatoryhealthcare and goes on to explain how consumer health informatics can supportthis shift. This section goes into detail about the best ways to search fortrustworthy and accurate medical information for all types of healthcareconsumers. Each of the five chapters in the second part focuses on a differenttool consumers can use to support their healthcare. These tools includepersonal health records and patient portals, apps, smart medical homes, andonline patient communities. Each chapter explains the current state of thetechnology and how to effectively use it in different scenarios. The bookconcludes with a chapter on ethics focusing on direct-to-consumer geneticsproducts, like 23andMe.**Assessment**This quality book provides a thorough, detailed overview of consumer healthinformatics and an introduction to growing digital health technologiesavailable to consumers. While the common theme is to encourage consumers totake a more active role in their healthcare, the two parts of this book feelslike separate topics: consumer health informatics and digital health products.Nevertheless, this book would be a great resource for someone interested ineither of these topics. It provides additional value by using many examples ofresources and technologies that have been vetted by the authors. Overall, thisbook has many aspects that make it worth reading by anyone interested infacilitating patient empowerment or using digital health tools.-----------------------------------------------------------Weighted Numerical Score: 89 - 3 Stars

• Part I Foundations. Chapter 1 Individuals’ Opportunities and Challenges in the Era of Participatory Healthcare. Chapter 2 Consumer Health Informatics as a Field. Chapter 3 Health Literacy and Other Competencies: The Skills Consumers Need in Order to Be Effective in the Digital Health Information Environment. Chapter 4 Online Databases to Support Consumer Health Informatics. Chapter 5 Trusted Information Sources. Chapter 6 People Engaging with Health Information Technology. Part II Tools. Chapter 7 PHRs and Patient Portals. Chapter 8 There Is an App for That: The Universe and the Promise of Consumer Health Mobile Apps. Chapter 9 Smart Medical Homes and Their Potential to Support Independent Living. Chapter 10 Patient Communities. Chapter 11 The Ethics of Consumer Health Informatics. Index.