It is an attitude that festers in generalists. Every year, 28 million medical appointments are missed according to the National Council of the Order of Physicians. The national health insurance, for its part, evokes a cancellation rate closer to 3 or 4%. Too much anyway. It would cost the doctor two hours each week. A time that could have been useful for other patients.
The double date system
The main reasons cited by patients are simply an oversight or a last-minute impediment. But another phenomenon is the one raised by medical unions: the double appointment system. Thanks to platforms like Doctolib, patients keep multiple time slots with multiple doctors to ensure they get a consultation. The College of Physicians and the Academy of Medicine believe in a statement that this reflects a “discredit of the medical act”, transformed into “consumer goods”. Doctolib may well send reminder emails and SMS, nothing helps.
Soon a “rabbit tax”?
The liberal doctors’ union UFML has been campaigning for years “for a right to billing for dishonest consultations.” He launched an online petition that gathered almost 10,000 signatures. Senators have taken up the issue and propose to empower patients by making them go to the register. What is already called a “rabbit tax”.
It would be in favor of the unscrupulous patient and could be deducted by social security from future medical reimbursements. This requires modifying the public health code. Because nowadays it is not allowed. “Fees can only be claimed for acts actually performed, even if they are included in telemedicine,” according to article R.4127-53.
Patient associations are against the idea of a financial penalty. For France Assos Santé, for example, the real culprit is the increasingly long time to see a general practitioner or a specialist. For its part, Doctolib is considering sending a warning email to negligent patients and the idea of preventing you from making appointments with multiple GPs in the same period. The platform is also testing the possibility of canceling a time slot at the last minute.
Source: BFM TV
