General practitioners, gynecologists, ophthalmologists, pediatricians: in a study published on Tuesday, the UFC-Que Choisir points out the extent of medical desertification and recommends regulating the installation of doctors and ending cost overruns.
The consumer protection association has developed an interactive map of the “health gap” for general practitioners, but also three specialties called “direct access”, that is, for which the appointment is not conditioned on prior consultation with the medical assistant : pediatricians, gynecologists and ophthalmologists.
“A quarter of women and a quarter of children” worried
The observation of “deplorable geographic and financial access to care in France” is unappealable.
“A quarter of women and a quarter of children live in a gynecological medical desert and a pediatric medical desert, respectively,” laments the association.
“Regarding access to a general practitioner, the cornerstone of the health system in France, it is especially difficult for no less than 15.3 million inhabitants of our country,” he adds. A figure much higher than those advanced by the Ministry of Health, which estimated in 2018 between 3.7 million and 7.4 million the number of French people living in an area insufficiently equipped with general practitioners.
The association calls into question the incentive measures for installation implemented by public administrations for 15 years.
Ask legislators to no longer allow doctors to settle in areas with oversupply “with the exception of sector 1 (Social Security rate) when the situation requires it”, to close access to sector 2 (free) and eliminate aid for doctors who do not comply with the Social Security rate.
Source: BFM TV
