An investigation has been opened against two people who posed as child psychiatrists on the Doctolib medical appointment platform.
An investigation was opened in July for “illegal practice of medicine” against two people who posed as child psychiatrists on the Doctolib medical appointment platform, said the Montpellier prosecutor’s office, confirming information of France Inter.
A mother had filed a complaint in early July, after having consulted, via Doctolib, a fake child psychiatrist and her replacement in order to obtain a prescription for medication for her two children with attention disorder (ADHD), confirmed to the AFP Me Madeleine Archimbaud, lawyer for the plaintiff.
To read : After the controversy, Doctolib will strengthen its verification procedures
“We put together this whole file because she really thought she was dealing with a real doctor, because she had gone through the Doctolib platform. We are not talking about a simple general practitioner, but about a child psychiatrist, the facts are serious,” she added. The Council of the Order of Physicians of Hérault also filed a complaint for “illegal practice of medicine”. And the platform, considering itself a “victim of fraud”, indicated on Friday that it had also “filed a complaint against X” on July 22.
Contacted by AFP, the Montpellier prosecutor’s office confirmed that it had received a complaint from Doctolib for illegal practice of medicine and usurpation of title. The two fake child psychiatrists would have provided consultations, before the platform stopped their subscription and deleted their profile in early July, explained to AFP the president of the Council of the Order of Physicians of Hérault, Dr. Philippe Cathala.
“The general public must have the reflex to go to the site of the Council of the Order”
“We were shocked by the lack of control of practitioners by Doctolib. They then deleted the profile and stopped the subscription, but we are surprised by the registration process on this platform. It should be strengthened,” warned Dr. Philippe Cathala. These complaints come at a time when Doctolib has also been accused of referencing naturopaths with questionable practices.
On Thursday, the platform announced that no appointments can now be made before the verification of the right to practice is effective. To do this, Doctolib has decided to remove the 15-day period, which was previously granted to healthcare professionals so that newcomers can start making appointments before the opening of their practice. It was during this period that the two false child psychiatrists had been able to carry out consultations.
Since the creation of the site in 2013, out of nearly 250,000 referenced practitioners, the platform says it has been the victim four times of individuals who have created false profiles by usurping the identity of health professionals in particular, the last two cases of fraud dating of June and August 2022.
“The general public must also have the reflex to go to the site of the Council of the Order where all the doctors who can practice are referenced. It’s disappointing that a company like Doctolib, which knows this principle, doesn’t do it automatically,” lamented Dr. Cathala, adding that complaints filed against people using fake diplomas are commonplace.