Medicine in the Internet age. The rise of the network society

When social scientists began analyzing the socio-cultural impact of the Internet, health emerged as one of the areas in which the Internet has become a key means of communication and cultural expression. It is no exaggeration to say that the Internet is bringing about a structural transformation of the cultural practices and organization of health systems. This is the so-called online revolution of health systems. The Internet has both the usership and the technical prerequisites to be an ideal medium for promoting health-related education and support, but what makes the Internet the health medium par excellence is the fact that it is the mode of cultural expression and output most compatible with the transformations that have taken place and are taking place in our society: that is, with the rise of the network society. In this paper, I discuss the opportunities and challenges arising from the transformation of health systems into patient-centred networks.