Development of eHealth continues in France

After having identified the eligibility conditions for teleconsultation and teleexpertise in 2018, the French High Authority for Health (HAS) published a series of documents in late June 2019, for the operational deployment of eHealth services. Each of the new modalities of practice is discussed: teleconsultation, teleexpertise, and teleimaging. These guides / user manuals describe the services, the conditions required for a secure implementation (planning, premises, computer equipment for video transmission, document management, etc.). The HAS also determined the requirements for the success of these service at each stage of medical care: information and collection of patient consent, verification of the relevance of the use of telemedicine, the communication with the patient, technical means, authentication professional, patient identification, report and organization, continuation of the process.

Teleconsultation is a consultation carried out by a medical professional (e.g., surgeon, general practitioner or any other medical specialist, midwife), who is physically away from the patient, who may or may not be assisted by another health professional (e.g., doctor, nurse, pharmacist, etc.).

Telexpertise allows a medical professional to consult a colleague, because of their training or particular expertise, based on the information related to the care of a patient out of the presence of the latter.

On this link, you can find the teleconsultation and the teleexpertise guidelines, in particular, the following documents:

• Teleconsultation and teleexpertise: Implementation memo sheet
• Teleconsultation and teleexpertise: Good practice guideline
• Teleconsultation and teleexpertise: Patient tracing method (method of improving the quality and safety of care)
• Teleconsultation and teleexpertise: Patient information sheet (with and without appointment)
• Teleconsultation and teleexpertise: Development report

The guide devoted to teleimaging focuses on the proper use of "medical imaging exams with remote interpretation." There are two types of teleimaging – teleradiology and nuclear telemedicine.

On this link, you can find the teleimaging guidelines, in particular, the following documents:

• Teleimaging: Memo sheet

• Teleimaging: Good practice guideline

See the full news in French here.

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