Faced with the progression of the coronavirus, doctors are rushing to teleconsultation. Doctolib, the industry leader, has seen a 40% jump in requests from practitioners wishing to equip themselves. “ Faced with this exceptional situation, we have decided to make teleconsultation available to all doctors in the country free of charge for the duration of the epidemic. We take care of everything : equipment, training and management costs
of this service, "said company president Stanislas Niox-Chateau.
Doctors normally pay a monthly fee of 79 euros to Doctolib, then bill the patient for teleconsultation at the cost of a standard consultation (25 euros for a general practitioner), the patient then being reimbursed by the Social Security.
The 3,500 doctors already Doctolib customers for teleconsultation will be reimbursed for their subscription. "We weren't going to penalize the pioneers!" Jokes Stanislas Niox-Chateau, who defends all ulterior motives in this operation. “We are an SME, but we can afford to put 500,000 euros to 1 million euros on the table to help. It is very important for digital companies to get involved when technology makes it possible to resolve certain difficulties, ” continues the young manager. Teleconsultation can be a useful tool in the current crisis: it allows the doctor to follow the patient remotely, without the latter leaving his home and meeting other patients in the waiting room.
Since the first reimbursements in September 2018,
180,000 teleconsultations were carried out on Doctolib, which also claims 115,000 professionals and 2,500 client healthcare establishments for its flagship appointment scheduling service.
line.