Teleconsultation has been developing in France since 15 September 2018. After several unsuccessful attempts to book an appointment with your doctor, you decided to try teleconsultation.
What Is Teleconsultation?
Teleconsultation is a remote medical consultation during which a doctor, whether a general practitioner or a specialist, examines a patient via video. The patient may be assisted or unassisted by another healthcare professional (for example a nurse, pharmacist, or another doctor).
Telemedicine solutions have become essential to improving access to healthcare. Teleconsultation facilitates medical care for patients with chronic illnesses, mobility issues or those living in medical deserts.
Who Can Provide Teleconsultation?
Any doctor can offer teleconsultation, regardless of their specialty, place of practice or type of medical structure (private practice, multi professional health center, clinic, hospital, retirement home, etc.). Teleconsultation is available throughout mainland France as well as in overseas departments and regions including Mayotte.
Teleconsultation must follow the coordinated care pathway, which means you must initially be referred by your usual general practitioner. A teleconsultation with a specialist should therefore be carried out after a referral from a doctor, usually your primary care physician.
General Practitioners
Dentists
Legal Professionals
Ubiclic is not only for healthcare
Ubiclic: Teleconsultation and Appointment Scheduling for Everyone
How Does Ubiclic Teleconsultation Work?
1. Online Scheduling – Book Your Appointment Online
Log in to Ubiclic. Search for a specialty, then choose the practitioner and time slot that suits you. Select the teleconsultation option and validate your appointment. You will receive a confirmation email or SMS. A bank pre authorization will be applied when you confirm your booking.
2. Upload Your Medical Documents
Teleconsultation allows you to receive a digital prescription after a virtual medical examination. This type of prescription cannot be altered, and it saves considerable time.
3. Attend Your Teleconsultation
Log in to your Ubiclic account. In the “My Appointments” tab, a green blinking camera icon will appear. Click it to enter your virtual waiting room. Authorize access to your microphone and camera.
Log in to the waiting room 15 minutes before your teleconsultation begins.
4. Billing – Reimbursement of Teleconsultations
Online consultations are eligible for reimbursement by the French National Health Insurance. Ubiclic also offers third party payment with practitioners who support it, meaning you don’t need to pay upfront as long as you are registered with Social Security and have complementary health insurance.
Before starting the teleconsultation, the doctor is legally required to obtain the patient’s consent. Just like an in person consultation, the doctor is bound by medical confidentiality and must ensure the privacy of your information.
The Benefits of Telemedicine
Telemedicine: A Response to Medical Deserts
Telemedicine can help address the problem of medical deserts areas where healthcare professionals are scarce or absent. In these regions, limited access to healthcare can have severe consequences for residents.
Online Consultations: A Solution to Mobility Issues
People who cannot travel can now obtain medical advice more easily, particularly those living in rural areas.
Reduced Waiting Room Time
No need to wait in a doctor’s waiting room where viruses may circulate. Teleconsultation lets you speak to a doctor from the comfort of your home. It is considered an effective way to reduce contamination risks in waiting rooms.
Improved Quality of Care
Telemedicine can improve the quality of care by allowing healthcare professionals to collaborate more easily and share important medical information in real time.
Les questions courantes autour de la téléconsultation
A patient may be accompanied by a family member during an online consultation. However, for billing and medical reasons, a single teleconsultation applies to one patient at a time. The appointment always concerns one person.
With the patient’s prior consent, the doctor may conduct the teleconsultation in the presence of another healthcare professional such as a pharmacist, a nurse or a healthcare worker from a nursing home (EHPAD). This is entirely permitted and can help ensure better coordination of care.
A stable internet connection is essential to ensure a high-quality teleconsultation, avoid glitches and limit the risk of interruptions or disconnections.
You need a connection speed above 2 Mbps. This is the case for 99 percent of ADSL connections and for 100 percent of fiber-optic connections.
You can check your internet speed here.
Any device capable of supporting a video call is sufficient, as this is the only essential requirement. The consultation can be carried out using a computer, a tablet or a smartphone.