French people are increasingly familiar with telemedicine and are increasingly using it. A survey published recently shows the meteoric rise of this practice in our country since it was reimbursed by Social Security.
What is telemedicine? It is simply about the medical practices permitted or made easier thanks to telecommunications . In other words, it is a question of the practice of medicine at a distance, with regard to health services as well as the exchange of medical information. However, it seems that since his reimbursement by Social Security three years ago, telemedicine entered the mores of the French, as La Dépêche explains in an article of September 18, 2021. It should be noted that this practice represented only 0.04% of doctor consultations in 2019 before a jump to 5.4% in 2020. This increase is confirmed by a survey published by Odoxa (PDF in French / 45 pages).
In 2020, the first wave of Covid-19 boosted the use of telemedicine in our country. Many health professionals have tested and approved it. It must be said that in many cases, this practice of consulting a doctor online is fully satisfactory. For doctors, the simple fact of being able to monitor patients remotely is a saving of time and energy . For patients, the interest is just as undeniable:there is no longer any need to travel when it is not really essential.
Odoxa's survey collected information from around 5,000 people , namely French and European citizens, including 502 English, 502 Italian, 502 Spanish and 501 German. About 500 doctors and nurses also participated. First observation, the French are increasingly familiar with telemedicine – 86% of respondents. They are also more likely to want to use it. In addition, you should know that France is one of the most favorable countries in Europe to telemedicine, with 73% of positive judgments.
In one year, the practice of telemedicine has exploded, the crisis linked to Covid-19 who played a very important role in this progress. It is a question of a multiplication by 3 for patients and by more than 6 for general practitioners. Nevertheless, the progress suffered a slowdown after the very first confinement and France seems to be lagging behind some countries such as Spain and the United Kingdom.
In any case, telemedicine generally offers a very high level of satisfaction with 88% satisfied in France and 80% in Europe. Among French doctors, the satisfaction rate is 78%. In addition, 69% of respondents are in favor of the development of telemedicine. These people believe that this practice has helped solve the coronavirus crisis and will help to deal with future crises . However, the development of telemedicine seems to be on the right track because many non-practicing doctors have declared that they want to get started and 7 out of 10 French people have declared that they intend to accept a teleconsultation in the event that their doctor would suggest.
