The Vitale card application is now accessible to millions of French people, before a more massive deployment next year.
The device has been in testing since 2019 and we knew since the beginning of the year that an official launch would take place in 2023, the dematerialized Vitale card is finally available.
A dedicated mobile app
Initially, only the inhabitants of eight departments will be able to store their vital card on their smartphone: Rhône, Alpes-Maritimes, Loire-Atlantique, Puy-de-Dôme, Sarthe, Seine-Maritime, Bas-Rhin and Saône-et- Loire. From early 2024, the other French departments will follow, probably in several waves.
To use the dematerialized Vitale card, you must download the Vitale card application, available on the Android Play Store and the iOS App Store, and be registered with a social security organization of one of of the eight departments mentioned earlier.
To activate the document on your smartphone, you must bring an identity document (identity card, passport or residence permit) and your Vitale card to scan (or manually enter the social security number). To identify yourself, two methods are available:
- Through the national electronic identity card
- By biometric analysis of your face, compared to the photo of your identity document
How to use the dematerialized Vitale card?
It is of course always possible to use your physical Vitale card after having carried out the manipulation, the materialized document is for the moment an additional solution, and not a replacement. If you are not sure that your doctor has the appropriate equipment, it is also recommended to keep his physical Vitale card.
Health professionals have two choices for reading the dematerialized vital card: a reader to scan the QR code displayed by the patient’s application or an NFC reader allowing access to contactless information, such as for mobile payment.
The government also plans to merge the identity card and the Vitale card, a solution that would be less expensive than the biometric Vitale card project, supposed to reduce health insurance fraud. But we are not there yet.
Source : TF1 News
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