ICT-Based Consumer Health Information Services to Encourage Patient-Provider Collaboration for Improved Medical Care

Background: The potential of ICT solutions that are tailored to individual customers is gaining attention. The public's and patients' access to information, as well as the promotion of self-management, depend heavily on this emerging discipline called consumer health informatics (CHI). The majority of patients' willingness to take responsibility for their health and the growing desire of medical professionals to fully recognize each patient's potential gave rise to the notion of CHI.  Purpose: To explain how ICT might enhance patient-provider collaboration in consumer health informatics.  Methods/Approaches: The importance of established CHI applications in healthcare delivery is examined through a systematic assessment of the literature, identification of reference sources, development of search algorithms, and manual search.  Results: The Web, PDAs, messaging apps, smartphones, and other platforms have all seen the development of new consumer health IT applications. Through web-based communication, prompts and reminders, real-time health data transmission to patients and doctors, and personal electronic health information, these applications help patients manage their own health.  Conclusion: New resources are being developed to help patients and the general public make informed decisions regarding their health. These technologies also make it easier for consumers and clinicians to share health information both privately and publicly. To develop new research and IT technologies that are suitable for the healthcare needs of consumers, governments, healthcare organizations, and the ICT sector must collaborate.