PUBLIC E-HEALTH: THE IMPACT OF THE INTERNET ON THE WORLD OF HEALTH

The interconnectivity determined by the World Wide Web is a motor of change that has affected the very essence of modern society, and this sociological change is ultimately influencing the health sector. In this perspective, it is important to assess how the Internet has affected the health world thus far. Subsequently, we can try to identify the criticalities and the potential of these changes, and how this process could develop. The aim of this research thesis was to establish how the Internet has changed and is likely to change health, taking into account the public health implications. In order to do this, we systematized the many strands of research concerning the effects of the Internet on public health, analyzing the issue from the perspective of the three actors identified: citizens, health professionals and health organizations. The evidence we found during this research shows that public health has already become “public e-health”: huge changes have occurred in the way people deal with their health and with health professionals and organizations. This is why we will have to change the policies that guide us in disciplines such as health and medicine as technology becomes part of our lives. In conclusion, it seems sensible to promote a new role for public health in the era of the Internet: public health should also be the discipline that allows medicine to win the challenge posed by the information overload of our era, in view of defending knowledge and striving continuously to achieve wisdom.