Several users criticized the group for the possibility of making appointments with naturopaths, some of whom carry out dangerous practices.
The Doctolib group, a French heavyweight in making medical appointments, at the heart of a controversy because it references naturopaths with questionable practices, will strengthen the verification procedures for professionals referenced on its site, a-t- he announced on Thursday. Health professionals and patients have criticized the group for allowing its users to make appointments with naturopaths, some of whom have dangerous practices, close to quackery and sectarian aberrations.
Critics have particularly targeted naturopaths claiming to be Thierry Casasnovas and Irène Grosjean, two influential personalities in the field but with discredited positions in the world of health. The Order of Physicians asked Doctolib on Tuesday to strengthen its ethical rules for registering on the platform. Faced with the controversy, the group had already indicated on Monday suspending 17 profiles of practitioners. He announced Wednesday, in a press release, to have taken a “first series of measures” (…) “aimed at strengthening its verification and reporting procedures for professionals referenced on its site“.
Read alsoDoctolib suspends 17 profiles of naturopaths trained with the controversial Irène Grosjean
Among them, he affirms that no appointment will be able to “now be carried out before the verification of the right to practice of a health professional is effective“. It will also clarify “the content of the sheets of unregulated practitioners by explicitly mentioning that they are not healthcare professionals“. For practitioners carrying out unregulated well-being activities, which represent 3% of Doctolib practitioners and 0.3% of appointments made (including naturopaths), a dedicated team will check their identity and their presentation. A first update of the homepage of the site was carried out, mentioning explicitly that they are not health professionals, ensures Doctolib.
Doctolib “ensures in particular that it is impossible for a patient to confuse between a practitioner carrying out an activity in the field of well-being and a health professional“, he specifies. The site also announces the opening of a consultation with its Medical and Professional Committee, Miviludes (the interministerial mission to fight against sectarian aberrations), health professional unions, health orders, patient associations and the health authoritiesin order to better regulate the referencing of unregulated practitionerson the platform. That consultation “will give rise to a new series of measures“, promises the site.