The order of doctors strongly criticized, Monday, November 20, the SNCF’s plan to install telemedicine spaces in its stations, advising it instead “to improve rail service to the most isolated territories” to attract health professionals.
“The order of doctors can only express its very deep concern” facing the SNCF’s project to establish telemedicine spaces in around three hundred stations, by 2028.
“This proposal will divert health professionals, who will thus be less available to practice in the most vulnerable areas”notably predicted the order of doctors, which also denounces a new step towards “financialization” of the health system.
Fight against medical deserts
The SNCF declared on Friday that it wanted to deploy telemedicine spaces to combat medical deserts in around three hundred stations by 2028. These 15 square meter spaces must be installed initially in modular buildings provided by Loxamed, a subsidiary of the Loxam group (rental of construction equipment). This has designed specialized modules in care, used in particular during the health crisis for screening.
The SNCF declared that a nurse would always be present on site, and that each patient “will be examined remotely by a doctor practicing on French territory”. Loxamed plans to contact the regional unions of health professionals (URPS) to find nurses and private doctors who will take charge of telemedicine.
The doctors’ union UFML (French Union for Free Medicine) also strongly denounced the initiative of the SNCF and Loxamed, seeing it as a new example of the development of a “very lucrative low-cost medicine” for companies.
“There cannot be good medicine made from push-button consumption at a distance from a doctor who does not know the patient”criticized the union.