With the medical desertification and the congestion of emergency rooms, vacationers sometimes struggle to see a doctor in the summer for non-serious reasons. In the absence of an in-office consultation, teleconsultation can allow you to obtain a medical opinion and be taken care of or better referred to a specialist.
Several teleconsultation platforms and applications thus offer appointment slots with doctors registered with the Order, who dedicate a few hours per week to online patients. According to health insurance figures, more than 2,000 pharmacies also offered teleconsultation assistance in 2022, and 1,209 pharmacies equipped themselves with booths in 2023.
A participatory review
The teleconsultation takes place in two stages. When making an appointment, the patient must complete an initial questionnaire to provide information on their medical history, current treatments and symptoms. If an appointment is made with a dedicated application, patients are put in touch with a suitable healthcare professional within a few hours.
During the teleconsultation, the healthcare professional, previously trained in telemedicine, follows a detailed questionnaire. The patient is also invited to participate by, for example, showing a lesion to the camera, by making movements or by describing their symptoms as best they can using tools developed for telemedicine, such as the Roth test. This exercise allows healthcare professionals to assess a patient’s possible oxygen saturation by having them count out loud to 30.
“However, telemedicine is not intended to replace conventional medicine in the office”says François Burté, a general practitioner in Nancy and member of the medical management of the teleconsultation platform Livi. Teleconsultation is not, for example, suitable for examinations of the ear or stomach, or for anything related to orthopedics or stomatology.
“It is complicated to examine a member remotely, but we can potentially address all the subjects and graduate the severity, he specifies. Teleconsultation remains complementary: in the absence of having a treating physician on site, having rapid medical advice remains an added value. Provided by professionals often contracted in sector 1, these consultations are reimbursed by health insurance. However, some platforms, such as Livi, include service fees of a few euros.
Wasp stings and sunburn
The most common reasons for consultation are benign acute problems such as viruses, tonsillitis, flu or Covid-19. Dermatological problems are also often treated, as the cameras used are increasingly efficient. During the holidays, many patients also consult for wasp stings, jellyfish stings or sunburn. “The minor ailments of summer are often benign pathologies which do not necessarily require hospitalization or special treatment other than disinfection or hydration.summarizes Doctor François Burté. Teleconsultation lends itself quite well to this.”
According to the teleconsultation platform Livi, 22% of patients would have gone to the emergency room if they had not consulted online. In recent months, healthcare access services (SAS) have also been deployed to relieve pressure on emergency services. This system, which has been in place in all departments since this summer, allows patients to be referred to an emergency medical assistance service or to outpatient medicine by telephone, by calling 15.
