the French and teleconsultation Ehealth innovation

January 07, 2020

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The telemedicine company Livi carried out a survey with Harris Interactive to better understand the perception that the French have of this new practice which constitutes Teleconsultation. Presentation of the results.

As described in a previous post “Panorama of teleconsultation in France“, medical teleconsultation is reimbursable by Health Insurance in the same way as a classic consultation since September 15, 2018. In this context, Livi, a telemedicine company, conducted a survey with Harris Interactive to better understand the French perception of this growing practice.

This survey answers a number of questions: do the French know about teleconsultation? Are they well informed about this practice and its challenges? Are they considering using it? What advantages and disadvantages do they associate with it?

 

Teleconsultation, knowledge still perfectible

In general, most French people have already heard of medical teleconsultation (86%). They are even more numerous among people aged 50 and over (94%), those from better-off categories (91%) and the most qualified (93%). The spontaneous evocations most associated with the concept of teleconsultation are its "practical" and "rapid" aspects, as well as its ability to provide a solution to the problem of "medical deserts".

However, if the term "medical teleconsultation" is well known in general, the knowledge of what it intersects is largely perfectible. So, while almost 9 out of 10 French people have already heard of it, only 59% say they see precisely what it is about. Only 37% of them feel that they are generally well informed about this type of practice (here again, a slightly higher result among the oldest and most highly qualified).

In fact, beyond the doubts they express about their level of information, the majority of French people seem to know the main principles of medical teleconsultation. Thus, 84% of them know that it is carried out by a qualified doctor, 73% that it is reimbursed by Social Security (which has been effective since September 2018), 70% that it allows them to obtain a medical prescription and 69% that it allows to obtain and make a medical appointment in a few minutes.

On the other hand, the vagueness is more prevalent with regard to prices (only 59% know that teleconsultation is carried out at the same price as a conventional consultation) and timetables (51% think that it makes it possible to obtain an appointment you medical at any time of the day or night). And a question mark is asked about the status and legitimacy of teleconsultation: only 36% of French people consider that it has the same value as a conventional consultation.

In general, in line with their level of knowledge higher than the average on this subject, the oldest appear to be better informed on most of the characteristics of teleconsultation (qualified doctor, reimbursement, provision of a prescription, etc.) . On the other hand, young people associate teleconsultation a little better than their elders with a form of flexibility (meeting obtained and carried out in a few minutes, extended consultation hours).

A practice deemed rather positive to streamline the health system

In general, teleconsultation has a good overall image, as it is seen as a possible solution to overcome some of the current difficulties in the health system. Thus, 81% of French people believe that its development would be effective to allow people to consult a doctor more easily and 73%, in the same logic, to fight against medical deserts. In addition, 72% believe that it would make it possible to effectively tackle the congestion of hospital emergency services, by proposing an alternative solution.

It is therefore clearly under the sign of a promise to further streamline the health system that the French take a positive view of this practice. It should be noted that people from the wealthy categories are distinguished by higher-than-average confidence in these supposed benefits of teleconsultation. On the other hand, people living in rural areas (that is the first concerned) are a little more skeptical than the average about its capacity to fight against medical deserts (only 65% ​​consider it "effective" on this point, against 72% for the whole population).

In the end, 60% of French people believe that the development of medical teleconsultation would be effective in improving the functioning of the health system. A positive but nuanced result which shows that teleconsultation is perceived as an at least partial solution to certain difficulties, but not as a "miracle cure" to all the problems of the health system.

Moreover, 63% of French people declare themselves favorable to the development of this practice. Among certain populations, such as people aged 35-49 (69%), the wealthy categories (71%) or the most qualified (71%), the enthusiasm is even stronger. Among the populations more reluctant than the average, are the French of 65 years and more, the people from the popular categories, and the inhabitants of rural areas.

To encourage the use of teleconsultation, barriers to be removed

If 63% of French people say they are in favor of the development of teleconsultation, there remains a gap between this posture and the fact of really considering using this mode of consultation for oneself: a little more than one French in two ( 52%) say they are ready today. If the recovery is therefore not total between the two populations, we nevertheless note that the categories of people most favorable to its development are also those who show themselves to be the most interested in using it on a personal basis: French 35 to 49 years (60%) and executives and liberal professions (68%) in particular. Note that those who have a habit of seeing a doctor but who regularly consult elsewhere are also more open than average to the idea of ​​teleconsultation (60%).

In detail, faced with different specific cases, most French people find at least one reason to consider a teleconsultation. Among the reasons why the French could most perform an act of remote consultation, we find the request for medical advice (72%), the renewal of a prescription (71%), the consultation during an absence health home (67%), the unavailability of the attending physician (66%) or health problems deemed not serious (66%), that is to say reasons primarily practical or relatively minor.

They are much less numerous, on the other hand, able to envisage teleconsultation for a sick child (43%) or a health problem of which they are afraid of the seriousness (31%), situations sufficiently important according to them to not be able to go on a “live” appointment with a doctor.

Overall, we do not see a truly dominant motivation for teleconsultation appearing, which would far outweigh the others. Among the elements that could most encourage a teleconsultation, there are three major arguments: the fact of not having to travel (32%), the fact of being able to consult a doctor outside the usual office opening hours (26%) and being able to quickly reassure themselves about a possible health problem (25%). The motivation to save time, cited by 23%, is particularly noticeable among working people.

On the other hand, among the various pitfalls encountered by teleconsultation, one type of obstacle prevails over all the others: the absence of direct contact with a doctor and the supposed impact that this has on the quality of medical consultation . Indeed, the impossibility of being examined directly by the doctor (50%) and the need to have direct contact with the practitioner (36%) are the two reasons cited as being the most dissuading from practicing teleconsultation. These two arguments are a fortiori highlighted by those who do not plan to use teleconsultation today (56% and 48% respectively).

The feeling of being less well taken care of than during a traditional consultation also represents a significant obstacle (29%), especially among women, a fear which can also be linked to the fact of not being able to choose the doctor that the 'we are going to consult (22%). Considerations of a more technical nature, such as the security of data and exchanges (18%), the fear of being defrauded by an unreliable application (16%), or even the fear of not sufficiently mastering digital tools ( 12%, an argument put forward more by older people) constitute secondary obstacles, although not negligible.

The importance of direct contact, the absence of which is highlighted as the first obstacle to teleconsultation, is also illustrated by the fact that, if they have to arbitrate, in the absence of their attending physician, between a consultation with another doctor and a teleconsultation, most French people would opt, at this stage, for a physical consultation (72%).

However, in this type of situation, 26% of French people would prefer to use teleconsultation (36% among people aged 35 to 49, 43% among managers and liberal professions), a sign of the growing attractiveness of this type of service with part of the public. Note that those who are not really used to a particular doctor are also among the most inclined to decide for teleconsultation.

Survey conducted online from January 8 to 10, 2019. Sample of 1,018 people, representative of French people aged 18 and over. Quota method and adjustment applied to the following variables: sex, age, socio-professional category and region of the interviewee.

Source: Harris Interactive

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