The specialist has just told you that you are suffering hemochromatosisof ulcerative colitis or of COPD and you would like to have a second medical opinion but you find that the waiting time for the appointment is too long? As you are not the only person in this case, three young women had the idea to launch the site deuxiemeavis.fr, on which a second medical opinion is issued online within 48 hours to 7 days. The cost of this service provided by expert doctors is 295 euros. “This corresponds to the fees of the medical expert, the securing of data and the organization and maintenance of the service” explain the founders on their site. Of the €295 billed, €120 goes to the doctor and the remaining €175 is therefore used to cover the costs of the site. A tidy sum which is, of course, not reimbursed by health insurance.
And that’s the rub. Because the site may have the backing of a scientific council made up of many doctors, including Professor Laurent Degos (vice-president of the Institut Pasteur), Professor Didier Sicard, former president of the National Consultative Ethics Committee or the Pr Philippe Morlat, president of the French National Society of Internal Medicine, the National Council of the Order of Physicians reacted strongly.
“This site raises the more general problem of the uberization of health which passes through an Internet platform without respecting the virtuous course of care defended by the public authorities”explains Jacques Lucas, in charge of the file at the National Order of Physicians on the Parisian site. “I thought I understood that this initiative could be supported by complementary health insurance which would cover the consultation. There would then be two access doors to care, the one that goes through these complementary health insurance and that of other patients, which would create an inequality”.
The founders defend themselves by emphasizing that this second medical opinion responds to the legitimate concerns of patients affected by a serious or disabling illness and who may have difficulty moving around. In addition, they develop partnerships with complementary health insurance so that this second opinion is reimbursed.
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