This is a valuable and welcome book. Unlike many current volumes that are multi-authored and lack coherence, the entire book was written by a single author, a German who has spent considerable time teaching and visiting in the US. The subject matter is very important as more and more people are using social media and group interaction to deal with medical issues. It will be of interest to anyone working in current health informatics, whether they are health professionals or primarily informaticians working in the health area.

Wetter defines consumer health informatics (CHI) in chapter 1 as “information and communications technology-based methods, services and equipment that enable the lay citizen to safely play an active role in his health and preventive care.” The scope of CHI includes search, building awareness, technology-based or enhanced treatment, a healthy life companion, sensor-rich environments, and crowd wisdom; the author goes on to discuss each of these topics in detail.

Chapter 2 sets the stage by showing how the growing elderly population will lead to an increased demand for health services that will outstrip supply. Subsequent chapters discuss such topics as level 0 information searching, with its benefits and risks due to lack of consistent quality control; level 2, which involves enhancing the provider/client relationship via follow-up and disease management; and level 3 services that can be provided without any provider/client contact.

Also discussed in separate chapters are group wisdom and social networks and the growing availability of smartphone-based apps. He discusses in depth the risks in both areas. Examples are given in detail about CHI applied to a specific medical condition (metabolic syndrome) and how CHI can provide outreach to underserved populations. A chapter is devoted to the development of smart homes that use sensor-based applications to monitor the frail and seriously ill. Patient portals and patient-centered electronic medical records (EMRs) are reviewed. The final chapters discuss the need for more evaluation and research and how regulation to ensure patient safety has developed (and will continue to develop).

This book provides a comprehensive look at an important subject and is a welcome addition to the literature. The content is as up to date as it can be in such an evolving field.