Corporations are claiming the right to copyright parts of the human genome, parts unique to specific populations. We now, or will very soon, have access to information formerly thought of as the sole preserve of God, the Fates, or Lady Luck depending on personal beliefs. Yes I'm asking myself that very same question. People are first and foremost information processors . The emphasis on 'information', as in banking, need not compromise health care.
Adults have information needs, which when disrupted can lead to disfunction and illness.
The effects of sensory depreviation are well documented. We can speculate on the information needs of an infant. Health care services have not only just joined the information age, they have in many instances been at the forefront of developments. Payroll tasks were a natural target for computerisation, and health were quickly on board in this aspect. Progress has been far from straight forward, however, when attention turned to clinical computing.