Cognitive Informatics and Health Behaviors: The Road Ahead

Abstract

The transformation of healthcare can be partly attributed to the rapid development of technology. This started with the use of technology in the clinical arena; now, consumer-based devices and applications are being used by patients to record and manage their own health.Devices such as activity trackers and monitors, and communication technologies, such as smartphones and wireless communication, have changed how modern healthcare is practiced.Although these capabilities are expanding, the goals that drive our excitement about innovations in health programs are the improvements that focus on wellness and health promotion more globally. Looking forward, public health workers, clinical providers, and patients are likely to have greater access to support tools that enable proactive health management. Our challenge will be to ensure that these approaches are scalable and address the diverse needs of the patients in various communities. The marriage of health-related technologies to health behavior changes will lessen the burden not only on providers and patients by providing key information more precisely and readily, but also support the caregivers who assist these patients.