title: [The Internet and self treatment: how to put them together?].
abstract: Information and communication technology through the Internet has brought about elements/processes/objects produced in order to be used by humane bio-sciences related to bio-medicine activities, such as public health. ICT has been covering larger domains of medical information, producing fields of specialization known as telemedicine, cyber-medicine and consumers' health information. It tries to meet consumers' need of information, by apparently creating something similar to self-treatment with some expertise. This way, consumers would be able to make more 'educated' decisions in terms of their acquisitions in the area of health. In order to reach this objective, computer programs have come up with health decision aids software. It is clear the mingling of three powers that participate in the mechanisms that organize present day life - instrumental reasoning and its technical production, the power created by the union of institutions and ideologies, and the belief in the myths, symbols and rites of scientific technology. As a possible result, we may have the colonization of societies by authorities that produce specialized knowledge, by professionals that apply such knowledge to produce technological items or pack them in technological cases, by industrial systems and by information, distribution and commercial nets.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Epidemiologia da Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. castiel@ensp.fiocruz.br
authors.forename: Luis David
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Castiel
authors.forename: Paulo Roberto
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Vasconcellos-Silva
mesh_terms: D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D020407:Internet / Q000266:history*; D008490:Medical Informatics / Q000266:history*; D012648:Self Care / Q000266:history*