In an opinion, the HCSP issues detailed recommendations for updating the health record for children and adolescents. In particular, it recommends providing for its dematerialization.
The health record is present in every French household. Admittedly small, the “blue notebook” remains very useful. It is used to monitor the development of children and adolescents and their health course. But not only. It is also the medium for prevention messages and therefore a communication tool between families and health professionals. In a notice published on Monday, the High Council of Public Health (HCSP) issues detailed recommendations to modernize it. The one that currently exists is not in fact very successful.
As a preamble to its opinion, the HCSP indeed considers that “families do not sufficiently appropriate this document”. He notes “failure to fill in the parts reserved for them or additions to personal elements (such as the age of walking), and a lack of systematic presentation during the consultation of a health professional”.
But the latter are not exempt from all reproach either since they do not use it optimally, especially after infancy: “Some (health professionals) do not consult it, some do not fill it out or not systematically. », These experts deplore.
Growth monitoring highlighted
Faced with so much dilettantism, the HCSP first of all proposes to act on the key ages of health examinations from 0 to 18 years old and on their content. It therefore submits a new grid based on the hearings of several bodies specializing in childhood and adolescence (1). “They take into account the need for certain exams to be carried out within the school framework and the difficulties of their implementation within the framework of national education”, he specifies.
For the HCSP, the edition of the new health record will be done on the other hand with the maintenance of the contested ones. current anthropometric (child growth) curves. Even if he recognizes that they must be updated, “they allow the individual monitoring of a growth dynamic and the early identification of its anomalies,” he said.
However, they must be accompanied by a message intended for parents “explaining to them the importance of monitoring growth and reminding them that the curves are offered for information only because there are no absolute standards in terms of weight and height. », It is written.
A vaccine “postcard”
In addition, the HCSP considers it necessary to maintain a vaccination schedule in the health record given at birth. He recommends that vaccinations appear on a removable “postcard” such as the one currently produced by Public Health France.
In this way, each child would now have in his health record the vaccination calendar of his year of birth. The High Council also recommends updating the various sections of the health record, and in particular the prevention messages. For example, he asks to insert one called: “Prevention of Unexpected Infant Death”. Better yet, a special insert should, according to him, be devoted to environmental risks.
In addition, other prevention messages deserve to be clarified in his eyes. This is particularly the case in the prevention of botulism linked to honey, where it recommends adding a pictogram and a special message: “Do not give honey to infants aged less than 1 year (risk of infant botulism)”.
The acclaimed dematerialization
Last recommendation and not the least: the dematerialization of the health record. The HCSP writes that a dematerialized version integrated into the “Personal medical file” (DMP) is unanimously expected.
Finally, the HCSP would like an information campaign reminding the interest of the child’s health record to be conducted among the general public and health professionals when the new version is published.
(1) The French Society of Pediatrics (SFP), the College of General Medicine (CMG) and the French Association of Ambulatory Pediatrics (AFPA) and professionals from maternal and child protection services (PMI)
.