Already targeted at the start of the year, unhonored medical appointments are still in the line of sight of Emmanuel Macron, who wishes to “punish” dishonest patients, while his government has so far been reluctant. The executive is firing on all cylinders to “free up medical time”. The Head of State repeated it on Sunday in Le Parisien: “The answer is multifactorial”. And to list classic solutions, such as “training more” caregivers or “investing in the hospital”. But it is also necessary to “empower patients better”, he adds, announcing that “those who do not come to the appointments, we are going to sanction them a little”. Words that remind his wishes to the actors of health, at the beginning of January.
As for doctors, the Order, the Academy and unions like the UFML have estimated 27 million consultations lost each year. “There is no miracle or automatic solution”, explains the entourage of the Minister of Health François Braun, stressing that “one of the keys is already to continue to raise awareness and inform about the consequences of an appointment. you not honoured”. Work is well planned, not only with Health Insurance, but also with doctors, appointment booking platforms and patient associations.
Spokesperson for the latter, Gérard Raymond is all the more surprised at the position taken by the Head of State. “To say that we are going to make patients pay is not up to the challenge”, replies the president of France Assos Santé – which brings together 90 associations of patients and users of the health system. “We are up against this simplistic solution”, he insists, recalling that a financial penalty is for the time being “contrary to the law, because a doctor cannot charge for a consultation that he has not not made”.
To avoid getting there, salvation could come from the platforms. The market leader, Doctolib, has promised to improve its “reminder system” by September to “limit oversights as much as possible”. A test is also being carried out among 5,000 doctors – general practitioners and pediatricians – to lower the minimum “cancellation period” to “one or two hours before the appointment” against 4 hours currently. With the hope of reducing the share of “not coming, not warned”, today around 3.4% of patients in these specialties.
