Consumer Health Informatics (CHI) is the field that helps to connect the gap between patients and health resources. Its focus is to provide patients with the most complete health information possible.
Using the South University Online Library or the Internet, research on consumer health informatics.
Based on your readings and understanding, create a 3- to 4-page Microsoft Word report that provides the answers to the following questions:
- What role will medical informatics professionals play in CHI? What are some of the barriers to the growing role of CHI?
- What do you believe is the most important thing that needs to happen next in order for CHI to continue evolving? How can it best be addressed?
- What are the key factors in training users of health information systems technologies?
- How can personal health record systems and electronic health systems contribute to advancing the role of consumer health informatics?
- What are the three options for CHI that could improve healthcare quality and lower costs in the future?
Sample solution
Consumer health informatics has the capability to the provision of strategies and frameworks for the design of tools for health communication. These tools that aim at empowering and ensuring its users make informed decisions about their health. This field helps in the development of consumer-tailored resources. The internet, through telemedicine, electronic medication filling and e-mail, has widened the opportunities for interaction between patients and healthcare providers.
However, there are barriers to the effectiveness of the consumer health communication. These include accessibility to consumer, competence, complexity of information, and issues with digital divide. Moreover, there is limitation in the understanding the needs of the public on health information. Since, design of the systems relies on the perception of providers on patient health information requirements instead of assessment of the actual requirements
