“Digital practice in health generates substantial savings” | EUROtoday

Pierre Bentata is an economist, lecturer at Aix-Marseille University, writer of the research “The use of teleconsultation and tele-expertise: what financial influence can we count on in France? » for the Molinari Economic Institute, revealed in January 2022.

In 2022, you’ve gotten estimated the financial savings that may very well be generated every year in France by working towards teleconsultations and tele-expertise extra broadly at 1 billion euros…

Yes, and this determine is slightly a low vary, as a result of we needed to stay reasonable and respectful of a high quality care pathway. Our calculations had been made primarily based on the speculation that solely the best procedures and solely one-off procedures may very well be the topic of a teleconsultation. It is apparent that not all medical procedures are appropriate for this, however in France as we speak, the observe is restricted: docs can’t commit greater than 20% of their exercise remotely. This ceiling appears arbitrary to us and, for my part, deserves to be lifted. A meta-analysis of experiences carried out overseas and transposable to France confirmed us that with fixed high quality of care, the observe generates substantial financial savings. While present well being expenditure represents 11.3% of GDP in France, in comparison with 9.9% on common within the nations of the European Union, better use of teleconsultation may represent one answer amongst others to convey nearer France of the European common.

What are the financial savings you calculated?

First of all, there are journey financial savings. Consulting remotely means avoiding kilometers, gasoline prices, transport prices, and wasted time too. By constituting a primary resort, teleconsultation additionally makes it attainable to keep away from a return journey to the emergency room, which relieves congestion in already saturated companies. This additionally lets you seek the advice of extra rapidly, and early therapy can stop the worsening of sure pathologies. Tele-expertise, which permits a health care provider to request the experience of a colleague remotely for a affected person, can even restrict pointless visits to a specialist. Finally, past the monetary side, there’s a discount in sure psychological prices: when face-to-face session dangers being tiring, in psychiatry particularly, going by the display screen could make issues extra snug.

How do you see the way forward for teleconsultation?

Digital expertise will play an more and more necessary function in our lives, and we ourselves, no matter our age, will turn out to be increasingly more snug with this instrument. It is apparent that teleconsultation is not going to be the alpha and omega of medical observe, however it’s going to signify an extra means to deal with and this growth appears inevitable to me. This is much less stress for the affected person, and simpler to handle for docs.