Consumer Health Information Programs and Services: Best Practices presents examples of successful and long-standing library programs and services that provide health information to consumers—the general public, patients, and families or patients – who seek information about health and diseases. This best practices volume brings together library programs and services currently offered in hospital libraries, public libraries, academic health sciences libraries, and standalone consumer health libraries, covering a range of topics and special programs. Advice and best practices provided by these experienced CHI librarians will help readers who are planning a new consumer health information service, or who are looking to upgrade and expand their current program or service. This best practices book will highlight successful library consumer health information programs and services, offering advice and tips about all aspects of providing health information to the general public and patients, from planning and establishing a CHI program, to offering specialized services to special populations. Readers will find both solid, tried-and-true methods for providing these services, as well as guidance on using newer, updated techniques to reach persons needing health information.

Consumer Education in the Human Services: A Social Policy Book focuses on the trends in consumer education and inclusion of the human services sector, aside from budgeting and purchase of goods, among the considerations in consumer education. The selection first offers information on consumers in the service society and consumer education and advocacy, including the service society, activating consumers, and models of consumer education. The text also looks at consumer education from the feminist perspective. Topics include feminist housing, transportation, and medical care. The manuscript ponders on low-income consumers and disabled consumers as enabled producers, as well as facts regarding low-income service consumers and poor consumers in the 1970s. The text also concentrates on health care, self-care and health planning, and costs of medical care. Private insurance discrimination, flaws of family-related insurance coverage, and women and the health delivery system are discussed. The book is a valuable source of information for readers interested in consumer education.

Contributed articles presented at a workshop held in 1994.

This nonprofit website rates local service firms and provides unbiased consumer rating and information on local auto repair shops, home repair services, health care insurance and providers, and more.

Offers information & advice to help consumers gain knowledge about their rights & about how to make the right choices. Includes: corporate consumer contacts; better business bureaus; trade association & other dispute resolution programs; state, county & city government consumer offices; selected federal agencies; military commissary & exchange contacts; media programs; occupational & professional licensing boards; legal help; consumer credit counseling services; consumer groups & much more. Especially helpful for consumer complaints or problems.

Modern consumers are being bombarded with in-formation from every angle. They can’t handle it and, consequently, tune out large portions of the information. Consumers, therefore, often enter service transactions with predetermined men-tal scripts regarding how they predict the trans-actions will transpire and are not paying close attention. In order to gain their full attention, firms must find ways to surprise consumers dur-ing transactions; that is, firms must spawn mental script deviations for them. Research indicates that these script deviations can cement consumer loyalty. This book details how to create a surprise culture in a service firm. Because a consumer can only be “surprised” by a given tactic one time and surprise ideas can be copied by competitors, a firm with a culture that generates and implements a constant stream of surprise tactics is one that has the higher edge in achieving success in the modern envi-ronment of information overload.