CONSUMER HEALTH

INFORMATICS
Outline
 Introduction

 Some common CHI Applications

 Benefits of CHI

 Challenges

 Future directions
The Patient, Consumerism, Self-Help and Consumer
Informatics
 Patients are important and critical stakeholders in health
care.
 Potential areas of involvement of patients include:
 Self monitoring
 Evaluating
 Choosing therapeutic strategies from acceptable alternatives
 Implementing the therapies
 Evaluating therapies effects
 Evidence suggest that patient centered care, where the
patient participate actively in their management results in
better clinical outcomes
 To effectively participate in their care, patients need
accurate, adequate and sufficient information about their
conditions
Patients as consumers & their roles
 As a full partner in health promotion and disease management
consumers serve as their own case managers, brokering care from
generalists, specialists and ancillary groups
 Generally, consumers receive their needed clinical services from
different providers.
 Modern informatics tools, provide an integrated record and
communication service for consumers
 Applications of medical informatics technologies that focus on
patients or healthy individuals as the primary users(CHI) helps to:
 Analyses information needs of consumers
 Develops, test and implements strategies to deliver health information to
consumers
 Integrates consumer preferences into HCIS
Consumer Health Informatics - Definition
 Sub-branch of HI that helps bridge the gap between
patients and health resources
 the field is devoted to informatics targeting consumers or
patients view
 Uses modern computers and telecommunications to support
consumers in obtaining information, analyzing unique health
care needs and helping them make decisions about their own
health
Scope
 include technologies focused on patients as the primary users to health information
 information resources
 Media for abstracting health information
 communications,
 Platforms for disseminating health information

 remote monitoring
 patient monitoring outside conventional clinical setting e.g homes, remote areas
 Vital statistics are detected and collected through sensors on the patient which are transmitted to
Service provider for interpretation/care
 Enables follow up on clinical progress and reduces hospitalization/duration of hospital stay
 videoconferencing
 Platform for real-time interaction with patients

 Telepresence
 any technology which enables a person to simulate being in one location when they are in another
location.
 can include observing the surroundings of their virtual location, or even interacting with objects
or people in that secondary location
 Why Consumer Health Informatics?
 Complexity in healthcare delivery require collaboration and patient
centered care
 Increasing need for patients to be better informed about their
conditions and prognosis
 Patients need better understanding of their health diagnosis and to be
aware of new trends in research and information
 Patients need to be active participant in their clinical care

 Enhances healthcare delivery to remote and under-served locations

 COMMON APPLICATIONS IN
CONSUMER HEALTH INFORMATICS
Mobile health
 Can help patients to collect, analyze and use health
information

 Some mobile health applications deploy sensors on phone to

enrich the information collected such as how far one climbed
or how fast one ran

 Other mobile health applications help you keep track of

critical information such as your medication schedule and can
provide alerts to keep you on track.
 Smart phones
 Smart phones adoption has paved way for the retrieval of a wealth of health
information quickly and efficiently
 Users are able to accessed information through the Internet regularly
through their smart phones, including materials relating to health
 Users apply smart phones in looking for health information before deciding
to consult a doctor.
 Related applications are developed and installed to access information
 Fitbit. Apple Heart Study. GoogleFit. Samsung Health.
 Users expressed interest in apps that give information and advice that they
could access on the go
 SELF-MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
 Includes systems with different combinations of functionalities
utilizing multiple platforms with some providing effective and real-
time response to information about the current status of the user

 Allows for monitoring and transmission of information, such as

blood pressure or blood glucose

 Depending on system design, feedback to a patient regarding

his/her health status can be received from the system directly or
from the provider who receives information from the system.
 SELF-MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
 Transfer of care activities from the healthcare providers to the
patients could be achieved by equipping patients with adequate
tailored tools

 Allows patients become real partners in the care process, and

healthcare providers can give further attention to the treatment
of more serious health conditions
ELECTRONIC PERSONAL HEALTH RECORDS AND PATIENTS PORTALS
 Electronic PHR record of health-related information concerning
an individual that conforms to nationally recognized
interoperability standards
 Can exist as a stand-alone application that allows information to
be exported to or imported from other sources or applications or
as a tethered application that is linked to a specific health care
organizations information system
 Tethered PHRs, also referred to as patient portals, typically allow
patients to view, but not modify, data from the providers
electronic health record (HER)
ELECTRONIC PERSONAL HEALTH RECORDS AND PATIENTS PORTALS
 Relevant information that is often retained in a PHR
includes personal identifiers, contact information, health
provider information, problem list, medication history

 Some applications such as the Electronic Health Records

also allow patients to communicate electronically with
their providers
 PEER INTERACTION SYSTEMS
 A very resourceful avenue for clinicians and clients as well in
problem solving and emotional support about their health
concerns

 System not a replacement for clinical service providers, but can

help in exchange of information about treatment options and
experiences, disabling conditions, care facilities, dealing with
complications, current research and many other topics
 PEER INTERACTION SYSTEMS
 Peer interaction can take the form of stand-alone
applications or can sometimes be a part of multi-component
applications

 These applications can increase the perceived peer support

and improve personal and social outcomes
LOW-COST COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS
 Provides opportunity for real-time interaction with patients
 These include
Skype/Zoom/Google meet etc
handheld radios for improved medical communication
among health practitioners and their clients
 Provides opportunity for real-
time interaction with patients
 These include
Skype/Zoom/Google meet etc
handheld radios for improved
medical communication among
health practitioners and their
clients
 EMAIL AND TEXT MESSAGES`
 E-mail and text messages are very useful in reminding patients
about their appointments and other important information
which may be needful in managing a chronic illness

 SMS and other tools for communicating with patients between

medical visits can improve health behaviors and physiological
outcomes

 Randomized trials revealed text messaging Is a significant

application for improving adherence rates
 EMAIL AND TEXT MESSAGES`
 Studies on the effectiveness of SMS messages for health
promotion have also shown improvements in the outcomes
of care

 In a trial of smoking cessation involving 5800 participants,

the percentage of participants who had quit smoking
(verified biochemically) had more than double 6 months
after a txt2stop intervention
NCDC text messages
 SOCIAL MEDIA
 Blogs - are run by a community of healthcare insiders and
experts and publishes news, opinions and features about
different health settings and sectors

 Tweeter- may provide an avenue to promote and reinforce

positive behavioural change and disseminate valid information

 Health community wiki: a collaborative website authored by a

group of patients or by medical professionals
SOCIAL NETWORK SITES
 TELEMEDICINE
 Telemedicine involves the use of modern technology, especially
two-way interactive audio/video communications, computers and
telemetry to deliver health services to remote patients

 It also facilitates information exchange between primary care

physicians and specialists located at some distance from each other

 Involves use of electronic information and communication

technologies to provide and support healthcare services when
distance separates the participants
 TELEMEDICINE
 Tele-health and telemedicine have the ability to bring
professionals and patients closer together.

 Telemedicine emphaiszes the distance, especially the

provision of care to remote or isolated patients and
communities
 TELEMEDICINE 2
 Telemedicine often  Settings where
involves Telemedicine can be
 Video Conferencing useful
system  Rural
 Cameras on each end  Schools
 TV screes/Computers  Clinic
on each end  Hospitals
 Various medical  Prisons
peripherals  Nursing home
 Video connection
Benefits of Telemedicine

 Improve care by reducing costs

 Limit delays associated with travel
 Direct communication among various participants
(patients, family members, primary care providers,
specialists)
Is Telemedicine the future of Healthcare delivery?
Benefits of Consumer Health
Informatics
Direct Access to Health Information resources
 Computer technology can supplement clinicians’ teaching
with more detailed information that can be referenced
repeatedly by a patient privately at home

 Consumer health informatics resources provide substantive

and procedural knowledge about health problems and
promising interventions

 Consumer health informatics resources originate from 2 major

perspectives: Professional and Self-help
 SERVES AS HEALTH INFORMATION RESOURCES FOR
CONSUMERS
 Professional developed CHI resources are those developed by
healthcare clinicians and their organization.

 Healthcare organizations(e.g HMOs, managed-care companies,

and group practices) develop information resources as a service
to the patient populations that they are caring for.

 Self –help consumer health informatics resources complement

and augment those provided bu the formal health systems
 SERVES AS HEALTH INFORMATION RESOURCES FOR
CONSUMERS
 A self help perspective is generally more
inclusive and comprehensive than a professional
perspective

 The information may address daily living

concerns, lifestyle issues, content considered
credible by medical a uthorities
 Many CHI resources represent a combination of
professional and self-help resources
 Web-based resources(e.g) provide pointers to other web
sites that represent professional or self-help
perspectives
 Computer networks- provide patients with access to
information and offer the additional opportunity for
individuals to connect with other people who share
similar concerns and with their healthcare providers
 Networks-based consumer health services include both
specialty and public access networks
Role of Health Professionals in CHI
 Professionals serve as sources for content: Working in conjunction with
software designers, clinicians provide relevant information on the nature
and course of illnesses and expected treatment.
 Effective clinicians deemed as content experts should consider both
physiological causes of diseases and socio-environmental causes and
consequences of illnesses
 Professionals provide important guidance in moderating public electronic
discussion groups and responding to patients' electronic messages
 Clinicians serve as information brokers and interpreters for patients,
directing patients to relevant resources and using time in the clinical
encounter to discuss observations
Challenges
 Poor infrastructure
 Using the internet for consumer health will mean
 Resources are widely available
 Data freely transmitted over the internet raises security concerns
 The industry faces the challenge to ensure integrity and quality of the medical data transmitted over the internet
 The information on health social network sites is crowd-sourced and thus may be unreliable or
inaccurate
 Postings from online communities could distribute persuasive, personally tailored but harmful
misinformation
 Consumers may have health beliefs to engage in a group discussion with other consumers who can
share and validate view points that may or may not be true
 Consumer inaccessibility due to lack of knowledge or technology
 Consumers low literacy level
 Cyber-security
On the bright side for HCI
 Better primary care decision
 More accurate secondary referrals
 Un-necessary spending is reduced
Future directions
 Everyone with computer access can potentially communicate with
experts around the world
 We now have the tools to develop new healthcare models, wherein
clinicians, community leaders, families and friends collaborate to
prevent illness, promote health, care for the sick, and develop and
administer new therapies
 The vision is no longer a pipe dream: We can do it today
 The challenge will be to facilitate productive collaborations between
patients, their caregivers, biomedical scientists and information
technology experts
THANKS!