Don’t be surprised if alligator heads lurk at the bottom of your medical certificates in the coming weeks. This is the initiative of Dr. Michael Rochoy, supported by the College of General Medicine. Exhausted by “useless paperwork,” this general practitioner wants to wage war on unwarranted medical certificates that waste precious time and clutter up his practice every day.
Home care, nursery registration, petanque, running, gym… Every week, this doctor, who practices in Outreau (Pas-de-Calais), misses at least two consultations, having to sign various and varied certificates to be able to certify that a person is apt to carry out this or that activity.
Dr. Rochoy has launched a website (certificates-absurds.fr) as well as an ink pad for your colleagues, so they can jot down any documents they deem superfluous.
“Blocks access to care”
“I’m not particularly interested in putting my finger on it. As such, I don’t mind having to do it. It’s fast, requires fairly poor thinking and is very cost-effective,” confirms this health professional, who was inspired by the The “Blue Crocodile” action launched last January by its Belgian colleagues.
Why a crocodile as a symbol? According to him, this refers to the Dutch expression “Paarse krokodil” (purple crocodile), which has symbolized unnecessary bureaucracy in the country since the 2000s. mother to fill out and submit a double-sided certificate in order to retrieve the buoy left behind by her daughter the day before. An absurd situation when the object is right behind him.
For the doctor, these procedures “block access to care” and “represent an exorbitant cost for Social Security.” “We can’t help it. When I spend my time filling out these papers, it blocks a window for a patient who potentially really needs it: a sick child, an elderly person… I’ll see her later, or well I would have to spend less time on it,” she laments. .
“We have become controllers of health,” laments the doctor, who says he has “the impression of living in a society of overcontrol, where a kind of generalized suspicion reigns.”
Schools, social, business…
The worst thing, according to him, is that he is regularly called upon to certify “uncertifiable things.” “Is this patient fit to climb a 2m ladder? Can he resume swimming or classical dance? Of course, I can roughly estimate this based on his general state of health, but it is mainly based on the patient’s statement and, therefore, in his good faith”. “, explains Dr. Michael Rochoy.
Short-term stoppages (less than 3 days) and sick children are also being targeted. He is rather in favor of a system of annual quotas for short stops without the need for certificates, as is done in Belgium or the Netherlands. According to him, the risk of abuse would be limited to the extent that an employee is not compensated by Social Security during his grace period.
But it does not stop there. Supporting documents Pôle emploi, social landlords, schools, nursing care renewal… The Pas-de-Calais doctor draws up an endless list of various and varied cases in which a medical certificate is requested. Even insurance, which does not hesitate to go to general practitioners to find out the complete medical history of a person in the case of buying a property, for example. “An illegal practice,” recalls Michael Rochoy.
The Minister of Health, François Braun, recognized, at the beginning of February, the “absurdity” of certain certificates. In response to the recommendations of a report on administrative simplification, he promised to “clarify before the end of the first semester of 2023” the rules on this matter, establishing 15 administrative simplification measures. “Wind, nothing but wind” for the doctor from the north of France, who considers that these announcements are “insufficient”, especially with regard to certificates of sick leave or sick children.
As for the promises of clarification of the rules on medical certificates, these are for the most part “already existing” since the regulation was revised in 2011. He also regrets that these measures mainly refer to the digitization of data, which is not necessarily synonymous with “simplification” or “time savings” for doctors, according to him. Regarding the certificates dedicated to the practice of sport in particular, “what will ensure results?” the professional finally asks.
Source: BFM TV
