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

"Edited by five leaders in the field of health informatics, Consumer Health Informatics explores all aspects of this evolving science. This comprehensive volume will be an indispensable tool for both professionals and students as it details the broad scope of consumer health informatics and its impact on today's progressive and ever-changing world of health care. The inclusion of several case studies serves to examine pertinent topics, namely computer-based information for cancer; National Library of Medicine initiatives; and web-based patient preferences and utilities. Designed for use by medical IT specialists, physicians, nurses, healthcare providers, and professors and students of medical informatics, the book's chapter highlights include patient empowerment; frameworks and models for health behavior change and patient education; patient to patient communication; patient to provider communication; privacy and confidentiality; ethical issues; evaluation methods, and more. TOC:Consumer Health Informatics.- Empowered Consumers.- Tailored Health Communication.- Design and Evaluation of Consumer Health Information Websites.- Information Delivery Methods.- Delivery of Online Learning for Healthcare Consumers.- Qualitative Evaluation in Consumer Health Informatics.- Patient to Patient Communication: Support Groups and Virtual Communities.- Electronic Patient-Centered Communication: E-mail and other E-ways to Communicate Clinically.- Consumer Health Vocabulary.- Disability Informatics.- Ethical Issues in Consumer Health Informatics.- Social Informatics and Consumer Health.- Security of Healthcare Information Systems.- The National Library of Medicine Reaches Out to Consumers.- Baby CareLink: Collaborative Tools to Support Families.- CHOICEs: Patients as Participants in Shared Care Planning at the Point of Care.- MedCERTAIN / MedCIRCLE: Using semantic web technologies for quality management of health information on the web.- The MI-HEART Project.- CHESS: 10 years of research and development in consumer health informatics for broad populations, including the underserved."

Consumer Health Informatics.- Empowered Consumers.- Tailored Health Communication.- Design and Evaluation of Consumer Health Information Web Sites.- Information Delivery Methods.- Delivery of Online Learning for Healthcare Consumers.- Qualitative Evaluation in Consumer Health Informatics.- Patient-to-Patient Communication: Support Groups and Virtual Communities.- Electronic Patient-Centered Communication: E-Mail and Other E-Ways to Communicate Clinically.- Consumer Health Vocabulary.- Disability Informatics.- Ethical Issues in Consumer Health Informatics.- Social Informatics and Consumer Health.- Security of Healthcare Information Systems.- The National Library of Medicine Reaches Out to Consumers.- Baby CareLink: Collaborative Tools to Support Families.- CHOICEs: Patients as Participants in Shared Care Planning at the Point of Care.- MedCERTAIN/MedCIRCLE: Using Semantic Web Technologies for Quality Management of Health Information on the Web.- The MI-HEART Project.- CHESS: 10 Years of Research and Development in Consumer Health Informatics for Broad Populations, Including the Underserved.