Health Minister François Braun vowed on Wednesday to fight “unnecessary medical certificates” that take too much time for doctors, thus responding to recommendations in a report on administrative simplification.
“The certificate of good health” that a nursery asks for before returning to welcome a baby that has been sick, “is nonsense, it is useless,” François Braun explained to the press, on the sidelines of a visit to Valenciennes.
And “there are sports practices that do not require a medical certificate at all.”
Administrative simplification for doctors
The minister promised to “clarify before the end of the first half of 2023” the rules for requesting a medical certificate.
The service-public.fr site will also create a specialized section for the summer to gather all the updated information on requests for medical certificates in nurseries, schools, sports federations, by employers.
This certification effort was one of the recommendations of a report on administrative simplification for GPs, presented to the Minister on Wednesday.
Between 1 to 2 hours per week
Unnecessary medical certificates occupy doctors between 1h30 and 2 hours a week, according to estimates in the report by Dr. Jacques Franzoni and Pierre Albertini.
Other measures announced by the ministry: the health insurance must establish “a reliable solution for the digital transmission of supporting documents” by doctors “before the end of 2023”, and “the vital card application on smartphones will be will be implemented gradually starting this year to limit vital card oversights by patients”.
“Limit unnecessary requests”
The National Health Insurance Fund will also facilitate the administrative management of patients with long-term illnesses (ALD) and “limit unnecessary requests from private doctors.”
François Braun is therefore in favor of long-term illness rights being granted for life for irreversible pathologies. He will seize the High Health Authority on this issue “at the end of the month,” the ministry said.
The government seeks to reduce the administrative burden on doctors to free up consultation time and see more patients, in an attempt to remedy the difficulties of patients without doctors.
Source: BFM TV
