Health in the information and communication society. Debate of the Order.

Summary On February 16, the National Council of the Order of Physicians organized a debate on "Health in the Information and Communication Society", prior to the publication, next April, of a document of ethical guidelines for physicians. We live in a world that is hungry for information on all subjects, and health and medicine are no exception. They even play an important role. The modern means of communication convey without interruption, in particular via the Web, information that is sometimes uncertain, with little concern for the reliability of its sources. Information for the general public is thus sometimes reduced to journalistic scoops, buzz on the Internet, and rumors on social networks, to the detriment of reliable information that has been validated, analyzed and commented on based on objective facts and verifiable criteria. The National Council of the Order of Physicians, which is very involved in issues related to e-health and new health practices in today's world, organized this debate to question the way health issues are dealt with in the information and communication society. After the opening of the debate by Dr. Patrick Bouet, President of the National Council of the Order of Physicians, five personalities from different backgrounds were able to discuss the problems related to the consequences of this new access to health information for patients, physicians and for the patient-doctor relationship. the appearance of specialized websites and applications and their consequences, particularly in terms of ethics for physicians . the constraints imposed on journalists and advertisers dealing with health issues, particularly on the Internet, and on the practice of medicine in the future.