Research indicates that changes in basic preventive behavior - smoking cessation, better diet and exercise, and routine screenings—can lead to potential reductions in disability and death due to cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
The first event occurred in early 2009, when the U.S.-based National Research Council released a report titled "Computational Technology for Effective Healthcare: Immediate Steps and Future Directions".
The research portfolio in health systems should be rebalanced, authors of the report argued, to emphasize cognitive support for providers, patients, and their families over technology development for its own sake.
In this context, a number of Federal agencies came together to convene the "Informatics for Consumer Health: Summit on Communication, Collaboration, and Quality," [16] in November 2009.
For three years the platform, informaticsforconsumehealth.org, served as a rallying place for summit stakeholders representing a wide range of sectors to exchange resources that bridge information technology and health care, and improve behavioral support for all consumers.