Telemedicine, a remedy against medical deserts in France?

The stopover pharmacy 77, in Courtry, in the suburbs of Paris, plays a little the role of medical office … Similarly, even if no doctor works.

A teleconsultation cabin. However, which allows a doctor to be met at a distance being anywhere on French territory, was installed there in 2021.

We suddenly ended up with three doctors who retired. Meanwhile, To help patients around us. Consequently, we installed the cabin to help them outrecalls Lucie Péchiné, an employee of the pharmacy.

The small soundproof space is equipped with several tools allowing the patient to take his blood pressure or temperature himself. For example, The information is then transmitted to the doctor who will lead his consultation in videoconference.

During the busy period. Furthermore, the wait may be an hour, but during our visit to telemedicine, remedy against medical deserts the pharmacy, a general practitioner was available in just a few minutes.

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According to Lucie Péchiné. Nevertheless, this system, the use of which is largely reimbursed by the government, makes it possible to meet certain pressing needs of patients, such as obtaining prescriptions to settle colds, flu or otitis.

Patients do not want to go to the emergency room. Meanwhile, wait two or three hours to get a prescription for a cold.

The device cannot meet all patient needs. Moreover, From the outset. the user is informed that one cannot use a teleconsultation for a child under three years old or an unaccompanied minor, or to obtain a certificate for sick leave.

We bring a complementary solutionadmits Elie-Dan Mimouni, co-founder of Medadom, one of the teleconsultation companies established in France.

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According to him, 95 % of patients have an adapted medical response, quality response. Five percent of patients arriving on the terminal, they must be oriented to more appropriate medical services.

He himself a doctor. Elie-Dan Mimouni participated in the creation of the company in 2018, before the popularity growth of the teleconsultations that the Pandemic permitted. The first virtual meetings were led on computers. mobile phones, before the development of tools that allow doctors to have a clearer portrait of the patient’s situation, which can be hundreds of kilometers of them.

We manage to make diagnostics remotely. thanks to these connected objects, it still improves the quality of medical care.

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Since 2019, more than 6.5 million consultations have been carried out on the devices of his company, telemedicine, remedy against medical deserts distributed in hundreds of pharmacies throughout the country.

In a report released in April. the Court of Auditors, public surveillance organization, still described the supply of teleconsultation as occupying a like modest in the care offer. Public reimbursements linked to this type of medical act represented 3 % of all reimbursements in 2023.

Nevertheless, the body sees it as an advantage. By avoiding certain patients to use emergency services for requests for care that do not justify it. teleconsultations can help to unclog these often fitted services and to make significant savingscan we read in the report.

Telemedicine, remedy against medical deserts

Access doctors remotely. failing to see them in person

If the Order of Doctors of France believes that teleconsultation does not constitute, in the medium term, a measure to compensate for the deficit of doctorssome telemedicine, remedy against medical deserts elected officials such as Jean Laviolette, mayor of the small town of Brie-Comte-Robert, see it at least part of the response to a pressing problem, that of medical deserts. The department where its city is located. Seine-et-Marne, is stored at 99^e Row out of 101 in terms of access to doctors.

Residents have the impression that the mayor can do everything. that if there are no doctors in the city or the community, it is the fault of the mayorhe believes.

The elected official was therefore delighted, when, in 2021, the authorities of the department obtained several teleconsultation cabins. One of them landed in the premises of the community of communes of L’Orée de la Brie. which brings together Brie-Comte-Robert and the surrounding cities.

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But after a few years to help between 150. 200 patients, the mayor and his colleagues were faced with one of the limits of this in full development sector: the company that operated the Brie-Comte-Robert cabin suddenly went bankrupt. Teleconsultation activities have stopped overnight.

We warned the most people immediately to tell them that it was over. the cabin no longer workedrecalls Jean Laviolette in front of the medical system, which, even telemedicine, remedy against medical deserts if it is no longer used, always occupies premises of the public building.

Since then. the authorities have been looking for a spare solution: either the implementation of a new cabin operated by another company, or hiring a caregiver who can support patients in more conventional teleconsultations, carried out using a computer and not a cabin equipped with tools.

Certainly. given the situation in this department, which is not so far from the capital, where there are only 57 general practitioners per 100,000 inhabitants, creativity is in order.

Anyway, we will not have dozens of doctors who will arriveconcludes Mayor Jean Laviolette.