A letter that surprised more than one and that generated controversy. In the Valenciennes region, several residents who had recently undergone radiological examinations received a letter from Health Insurance encouraging them to limit the use of medical imaging.
“We remind you that My health space makes it easier to track. You will be able to make your medical history available to healthcare professionals and thus avoid unnecessary or redundant examinations,” can be read in this personalized document, which includes reimbursement for the different procedures performed by the patient.
Signed by the director of the CPAM of Hainaut, the letter explains that the fund is carrying out “a supportive action regarding the relevance of the use of imaging procedures to limit the exposure of patients to ionizing radiation.”
A letter that goes wrong
For many patients, this letter was experienced as a questioning of the relevance of their medical procedures. An unbearable situation for Arnaud Bavay, mayor of the town of Hordain, located in a medical desert.
“If it is about monitoring the patient, it is a doctor who must do it, and not an administrative executive,” the councilor protests at the microphone of the BFM Grand Lille; after several of his constituents, some of whom were very old, came to complain about these letters.
From a professional point of view, this approach is also surprising. Jean-Philippe Masson, president of the National Federation of Radiologists, declares himself “very surprised.”
“Patient records are protected by medical confidentiality. It is not normal to attack patients like this,” the doctor reacts to BFMTV.com.
According to him, prevention must be done at the level of health professionals who issue radioprescriptions.
It is not “a control operation”, according to the CPAM
Before the microphone of the BFM Grand Lille, the director of the CPAM of Hainaut, Ghislaine Liekens, defends herself against any “control operation”. “It is above all about raising awareness about the health consequences of radiological procedures due to ionizing rays,” she explains.
The director explains having sent this letter to around 3,600 policyholders who had completed two imaging exams in 15 days. They were only orthopedic examinations (x-rays of the wrist, shoulder, foot, etc.), he specifies.
The local CPAM manager warns of cases of duplication of x-rays, “when the doctor does not know that an examination has already been performed” or “when he reacts to pressure from a patient.” He also states that he has sent an awareness letter to around sixty radiologists.
At the national level, CPAM tells BFMTV.com that it is not aware of letters of this type being sent to other regions of France. Health insurance specifies that each fund is free to carry out its own prevention and public health initiatives.
Source: BFM TV
