This article presents important theses for the development of science and technology in healthcare to be discussed in the XII National Health Conference. The study analyzes factors and processes identified in the literature that determine the patterns of production, use and assessment of the healthcare technologies, which are part of the "medicalization" of contemporary societies. We also evaluate the scientific and technological public and healthcare policies proposed during the 1990s in developed and developing countries to enhance the impact of scientific and technological development on population health. Problems facing these policies were identified, as were the challenges to be overcome in the twenty-first century.
Science; Technology; Policy making; Delivery of healthcare; Biomedical technology assessment
