Ethical and Legal Issues in Interactive Health Communications: A Call for International Cooperation

Cyberspace is a fast-changing, globally-networked, multicultural, and multilingual information environment with vast possibilities [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9].It calls into question national and international borders, cultural and ethical standards, regulations, and laws, which it bypasses and challenges [10-13].In the health sector, self-care, drugs sold over the Internet, and providing access to technical knowledge and alternative forms of healthcare to the general public have destabilized drug regulatory mechanisms and the traditional physician-patient relationship.