VigorBuddy.com | 10 Things To Know About Teleconsultation | You have heard a lot about it, whether from a colleague or from the news, telemedicine is the solution used to carry out a remote consultation. Teleconsultation solutions are developing at a great speed. In this period of the health crisis, more and more doctors are using it to limit the possibility of the virus spreading. Are you interested in offering this solution to your patients but some questions remain unanswered which prevents you from taking action? We take you through everything in 10 steps.
1 – What is the interest of teleconsultation?
80% of the reasons for consultation (infectious disease, rheumatology, and cardiovascular disease) can be resolved by teleconsultation). It makes it possible to overcome the distance which separates the patient from the healthcare professional. In this way, it solves the problem of medical deserts as well as the constraint of travel for people with reduced mobility. Teleconsultation makes it possible to give everyone back access to care. This solution saves considerable time with the suppression of calls and emails for a patient who wishes to be reassured about his state of health. Likewise, teleconsultation helps relieve congestion in emergency services by restructuring and reorganizing access to care.
2 – Which health professionals can offer teleconsultation?
Whatever the specialty or the sector of activity, all doctors can practice teleconsultation which they exercise in town or in health establishments (town office, multi-professional health center, health center, nursing home, hospital, clinic …)
3 – How does a teleconsultation take place?
A teleconsultation takes place as a classic consultation, starting from a patient’s request for an appointment, spontaneous or advised by your attending physician.
When making an appointment, by the teleconsulting doctor, on the online agenda, the patient receives an Internet link by email, inviting him to connect at the time of the appointment.
Before connecting to the teleconsultation, the software automatically requests the patient’s consent to participate in the teleconsultation.
Before, during, and after the teleconsultation, medical documents (prescription, results of additional examinations, etc.) can be exchanged between the doctor and the patient (or between the doctor and the nurse if he accompanies the patient in the teleconsultation).
4 – What are the conditions for teleconsulting?
Teleconsultation is a remote consultation carried out between a “teleconsultant” doctor and a patient, the latter being able to be assisted by another health professional. Any patient can benefit from teleconsultations and will be reimbursed by Health Insurance if they are organized in accordance with the course of care. This is why they are framed by certain conditions (set out in Addendum 6 of the agreement with the Health Insurance):
Patients must be initially referred by their attending physician if it is not he who performs the teleconsultation.
The patient must also be known to the teleconsulting doctor: he must have benefited from at least one face-to-face consultation with the teleconsulting doctor during the last 12 months.
However, these two conditions are not required for patients under the age of sixteen, for certain specialties with direct access (ophthalmology, gynecology, stomatology, maxillofacial surgery, psychiatry or neuropsychiatry, pediatrics) and for emergency situations…
There is also an exception for patients who do not have an attending physician or whose attending physician is unavailable within a period compatible with their state of health. In this case, an exception can be made to the course of care and to the obligation of prior knowledge of the patient by the doctor practicing the teleconsultation: the patient must then approach an organized territorial organization such as:
- CPTS: territorial professional health community,
- ESP: primary care team
- MSP: multi-professional health center
- CDS: health center
- Another organization that offers to organize a telemedicine response in a coordinated manner.
To Teleconsult, the patient must be informed of the terms of his care and give his consent before performing the procedure. A teleconsultation must be carried out by video transmission under conditions allowing to guarantee a quality consultation. A good teleconsultation software will, therefore, be required.
5 – What are the tools to have?
To tele consult, all you need is a computer, an internet connection to connect to a teleconsultation application, a webcam, and a low-frequency headset, inexpensive and easily found online.
It provides healthcare professionals with teleconsultation software that works with a simple ADSL or 4G connection. The software allows you to get as close as possible to a classic consultation with:
- The online agenda,
- A video consultation system,
- The possibility of exchanging documents during teleconsultations,
- Access to patient files (identity card, biometric documents, history, and allergies,
- Access to medical documents (prescriptions, treatment sheet, report, prescription, photos),
- Online payment by credit card.
This software is accessible from your browser (no need to download an application) and it is compatible with smartphones, tablets, and your computer.
6 – How much does teleconsultation software cost?
Teleconsultation offers complete software to carry out teleconsultation without commitment and free the first month at the price of 49 € / month.
7 – How are patients reimbursed?
Teleconsultations are reimbursed in the same way as face-to-face consultations. The doctor generates an electronic care sheet (FSE) with his business software to allow reimbursement of the patient.
8 – What remuneration for teleconsultation?
According to the Doctors’ Amendment 6, the teleconsultation is billed by the teleconsulting doctor at the same price as a face-to-face consultation and fee overruns are possible. The teleconsultation is thus reimbursed up to 70% by social security (excluding excess fees charged by sector 2 doctors) and in general 30% by complementary health.
If a doctor assists the patient during a teleconsultation, he can also bill a consultation under the usual conditions in addition to the billing of the consultation by the teleconsulting doctor. Doctors can use their business software to bill their fees remotely and therefore without a vital card, using the ADRI database.
On the teleconsultation software, you define when making an appointment with the patient whether there will be payment of fees or not. In the case of a collection choice, the patient will have to pay online to connect to the teleconsultation.
9 – What are the aids for teleconsulting?
Health Insurance offers assistance to equip oneself with teleconsultation software and hardware. You have the possibility of receiving 350 € to equip yourself with video transmission (software, subscription) and 175 € to equip yourself with connected medical devices (such as the teleconsultation case).
To receive these subsidies, all you have to do is send the invoices for the equipment or subscription purchased to the CPAM at the remuneration service for public health objectives (ROSP).
10 – Where are health data stored?
In the context of the health crisis, the government has promoted teleconsultation on non-medical video conferencing software. However, this software does not have the secure servers necessary for the exchange of health data.
However, “the use of a secure technical solution to protect medical data, confidential and sensitive by nature, is required. “
To this end, teleconsultation allows you to exchange health data (prescriptions, treatment sheets, reports, or even patient medical files) in complete security. They are stored on “HDS” servers, hosting health data. These servers are approved by the Ministry of Health as being sufficiently secure to store medical information. Regarding access to patient data, service providers are under no circumstances authorized to access it. Likewise, the video stream passes in an encrypted manner on secure servers.