Joint declaration on the challenges of digital healthcare!
In recent years, the French healthcare landscape has been enriched by digital tools that have become part of the daily routine of healthcare professionals. These include the computerization of medical practices, patient file management, prescription assistance services, dematerialization of procedures and billing, as well as tools facilitating access to care and coordination between healthcare professionals: DMP, secure messaging systems, shared diaries and files, appointment scheduling, teleconsultation, telerexpertise, remote monitoring, digital therapies, etc.
The signatory organizations note that this upheaval has taken place over the years in a scattered fashion, with a lack of clear rules shared by all, and without a unifying digital base at national level.
This historic lack of governance of digital healthcare in France is reflected today in real difficulties in implementing secure, interoperable solutions, and in the compartmentalization of the services on offer, which is detrimental to the fluidity of access to and transmission of healthcare information, which is so necessary to ensure quality care.
The signatory organizations therefore affirm the urgent need to accelerate the deployment of digital healthcare in France, by referring to common rules laid down by the State and by relying on core services provided by open State platforms, in conjunction with the diversity of services offered by industry. They also express their willingness to participate in the co-construction of these rules and core services.
To remedy these recurring difficulties, the French government has embarked on a proactive and ambitious approach as part of the Ma Santé 2022 plan, which is reflected in the roadmap for digital healthcare. This approach repositioned the State in its regalian mission by relying on two new national structures, the Délégation ministérielle du numérique en santé and the Agence du numérique en santé, and by promoting the development of three major State digital platforms open to the industrial ecosystem: the Espace numérique de santé for citizens, the Bouquet de services numériques for healthcare professionals, and the Health Data Hub for innovation and research on health data.
While respecting the founding national rules, all industrial players and regional initiatives will have to develop or adapt their activities and services based on these state-owned digital platforms, so that interoperability, portability and security are always guaranteed.
This is a major challenge if our country is to guarantee all citizens equal access to digital healthcare.
For this reason, the signatory organizations call on all players, whether manufacturers of digital services or users of the services offered, to adhere to this reference framework.
They call on the government to take all necessary steps to ensure that these measures are implemented as quickly as possible.
