The government published the decree on the approval of medical teleconsultation companies on Friday in the Official Journal, which gives these new players a full place in the healthcare system. “We are now an integral part of the health system, becoming care providers in our own right.», like a hospital or a private practitioner, welcomed Olivier Thierry, general director of the Qare platform which claims 200,000 teleconsultations per month on its platform. The decree, which applies provisions of the Social Security financing law of 2023, will notably allow approved teleconsultation companies to be able to employ doctors.
These companies will also be able to collect payment for consultations directly from Health Insurance. Teleconsultation platforms, of which Qare, Livi and Medadom are among the best known, have until now had to go through a health center to be able to pay their doctors or bill Health Insurance. Approval of teleconsultation companies will be granted by the Ministry of Health, based on compliance with specifications defined in the decree. This provides in particular technical requirements, to guarantee the IT security of consultations. It also requires the creation of a medical committee, bringing together medical employees and patient association representations.
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Teleconsultation companies: the door open to the financialization of health
In terms of pricing, the decree provides that the patient will not be able to pay more for their teleconsultation than the conventional Social Security rate. Clearly, teleconsultation companies will not be able to charge the patient service fees, contrary to widespread practice. “We will be able to offer paid services in addition to the consultation but they will be optional.», explained Olivier Thierry.
Teleconsultation platforms are viewed very negatively by certain players in the health system such as private doctors. They fear that their emergence will be a new illustration of the financialization of health, with community care increasingly provided by companies employing doctors, and no longer by independent practitioners.
For its part, Health Insurance is watching the development of this new medical practice with caution. In the current conventional negotiations with the unions of private doctors, it proposes to leave the teleconsultation of the general practitioner unchanged at 25 euros, while it plans to increase the physical consultation to 30 euros. The decree published Friday leaves unchanged the obligation for doctors to devote a maximum of 20% of their time to teleconsultation.
2024-03-02 18:42:02
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