States and local governments also have supported consumer health informatics and have provided medical information and health articles via the Internet. This inquiry included questions on the costs, potential benefits, and other issues associated with the development and use of such systems; we also examined federal, state, and local government and private-sector activities that develop and/or sponsor these projects. Consumers’ high and increasing demand for health information has been demonstrated in a number of studies. Advances in technology make access to consumer health information easier, responding to this increasing consumer demand. Experts Identify Issues and Options

While technology provides various advantages and may reduce unnecessary medical costs, the health informatics experts in our study acknowledged that computer systems also raise issues that need to be addressed regarding the development and use of consumer informatics. Other issues identified as important to ensuring effective development and use of consumer informatics included security and privacy, computer literacy, copyright, systems development, and information overload. Views on copyright and systems development issues were also expressed. The importance of following sound systems-development guidelines in developing a consumer health information system—such as developing a systems plan, identifying user information needs, and developing technical specifications—was underscored by most of the experts. Peer reviews of informatics systems developed could also help ensure information quality. Government Involvement: Present Activities, Future Plans

The federal government is performing activities to support and review informatics. HHS has recently developed a report that contains information on customer access, the creation of more public- and private-sector partnerships, and efforts to ensure access for various disadvantaged groups. While many federal agencies are involved in providing health information to the public, and many agencies provide health care funding through grants for research, clinical studies, new technology demonstrations, and disease prevention, no single, comprehensive inventory of all this federal activity exists.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed consumer health informatics, focusing on: (1) the demand for health information and expanding technological capabilities; (2) users' and developers' views on potential systems advantages and issues surrounding systems development and use; (3) federal, state, and local government involvement in developing these technologies; and (4) the status of related Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) efforts.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) increasing consumer demand for more detailed health information has driven the expansion of better health information systems; (2) studies on consumer health informatics show that these systems can respond quickly and efficiently to consumers' information needs, provide customized information, and reduce health care costs by limiting unnecessary medical services; (3) the systems' technologies, sponsors, and costs vary widely; (4) developers and users believe that consumer health systems provide additional benefits, such as anonymity, outreach, convenience, scope, and emotional support; (5) issues that need to be addressed to ensure effective and efficient system development, maintenance, and use include access, cost, information quality, security, privacy, computer literacy, and information overload; (6) options to address these issues include encouraging public- and private-sector partnerships and more research, involving interdisciplinary teams of professionals in systems development, and using sound systems development practices; (7) the federal government disseminates huge amounts of health care data through various means and supports systems development efforts; (8) states and local governments also support informatics projects and provide online health information to the public; (9) total government costs are unknown because there is no comprehensive inventory of informatics projects; and (10) HHS has outlined future steps to enhance health information for consumers and promote federal agency collaboration.