1 year of teleconsultation: Qare confirms its major player in access to care and patient monitoring

Qare is the only French telemedicine actor to offer both follow -up (teleconsultation to improve patient monitoring) as well as access (teleconsultation to facilitate access to care of patients who are distant).
This double model is fully part of the objectives set by the public authorities, in particular with regard to the fight against inequalities in access to care, the fight against medical deserts, the development of prevention, the monitoring of chronic pathologies , etc.
Through its unique positioning, Qare confirms its position as a major and innovative player in health.
In the coming years, Qare intends to contribute even more to the efficiency of the French health system by facilitating patient monitoring and all access to care.

We tested the Qare teleconsultation: real benefits but also limits

Almost a year after reimbursement by medical television security, this system which allows you to obtain a remote diagnosis is really practical and reliable ? Between doubts and excitement, you have tested this way of consultation which undoubtedly prefigures one of the future faces of medicine.

Posted on 07/04/2019 at 10:52 PM | Updated on 07/09/2019

Since September 2018, medical teleconsultation can be reimbursed by the security, and platforms now have to consult a doctor by videoconferencing. Among them, the giant of the online appointment doctolib, but also his challenger, qare. Created in April 2017, this solution currently brings together 150 doctors, “available 7 days out of 7 in one click”.

For already a year and a half already (while Doctolib has not launched itself in the field only last January), the start-up offers remote consultations, on video, and is remunerated by offering its services (by subscription) to doctors. Patients are reimbursed directly by social security. To his credit, Qare has “tens of thousands” of teleconsultations made in, and is training at his tele-consultation service 400 new practitioners.

Tele-consultation is still struggling to unravel in France, especially due to the fears of patients as doctors, who are afraid of a “dehumanization” of caregivers-care. For the moment, remote consultations in France represent only 2 % of the 300 million consultations carried out every year. But this is only a matter of time before seeing them develop until you unite with the general public.

But while waiting for this “explosion” of telemedicine, what is really worth this new mode of consultation ? To get a clean heart, I tested the Qare video consultation system. The operation is almost the same at Doctolib, of course, but I took advantage of the release of the “version 2” of the Qare interface this week to get started. And I must say that if I was a lot skeptical before taking the plunge, I am much less today.

A flash appointment

To start, I went to the Qare site, from its mobile application, to smartphone (but it is possible to do it also from a computer), in order to find a doctor, and to make an appointment. It was late, 10 pm, this Wednesday evening: obviously, no question for me to consult a doctor right away. So I chose a consultation offered for the next day, 1 p.m., right at the time of my lunch break at work. Usually, when I have a medical appointment at noon, I take 20 minutes to go there, then I expect a good quarter of an hour in the waiting room, then comes the consultation, and rebelote, again 20 minutes to go back to work – which often forces me to eat on the go and run. But this was not the case here. Likewise, very often, meetings are made weeks in advance, even months, and doctors are often inaccessible-here again, this was not the case here.

Among dozens and dozens of generalists (note that there are also dentists, gynecologists, midwives, psychologists, dietitians, pediatricians, pulmonologists, or sexologists), all registered with Order of doctors, so I made my choice, quickly and simply, based on the university course, the specialties and the slots of each. The price was little imported: indeed, everything is reimbursed by social security. At the time of registration, you are asked for your security number, but also the reason for your future consultation. And qare to tell you that certain reasons cannot be the subject of a video consultation -among them, there is “acute abdominal pain”, an episode of paralysis, or even a “disorder of consciousness” -, and for good reason , since these require a clinical examination.

The site also asked me if I was pregnant (no risk), and if I had a long -term condition (ALD). I also informed the doctor, 24 hours before seeing it, on possible drug allergies. Since I wanted to see a doctor for chronic jaw pain that a dentist could not explain, I also sent in my online “medical file” a photocopy of a dental panoramic made recently (but It is possible to send any other document that can help the doctor make his diagnosis). Finally, I also received an email explaining to me how the tele-culture of the next day would work, then, on D-Day, two hours before the videoconference, an SMS inviting me to confirm that I always agree for the TO DO. I who often forget things and who is a follower of procrastination, I rather appreciated this form of accompaniment / incentive not to let go … As I explained to me Augustin Chatenet, co -founder of Qare, that’s how “A good way to reduce for practitioners the number of ‘no show’, or patients who do not come, and who make them waste precious time”.

A listening doctor and real prescriptions

Comes the time of television. The SMS received two hours earlier encouraged me to verify the information I gave in Qare to prepare for the video consultation, which allowed me to discover a “Disease guide”, connected to the Vidal base , as well as a “drug guide” to check the contents of your personal pharmacy box. So I go to a quiet location so as not to be disturbed (a meeting room will do the trick), while checking that I receive 4G and/or WiFi – because one of the limits, I will come back , is the need to have battery (in case of consultation via your smartphone), but also a good connection.

At 1 pile, I press the fingertip on my appointment (because it is not the doctor who calls me, but I who launches the videio), then on “start”. It does not work at first glance, and it is the practitioner himself who devotes himself and calls me squarely on my cell phone to explain me how to follow-in the end, it was just a little bug. After a connection and equipment test, a chat space opens (allowing to discuss if the sound does not work) as well as the videoconferencing. On the other side of the screen, appears a courteous and smiling doctor, who asks me to confirm my identity, as well as the reason for my virtual “visit”.

Then begins the typical interrogation of the doctor – the anamnesis, which consists in carefully asking precise and targeted questions to the patient. Questions that can sometimes make it possible to make a diagnosis, without really needing a clinical examination, when the pathology is obviously without gravity-which is the case for the majority of television televisions. The video discussion lasted 15 minutes, during which I felt like I was really listened to by my interlocutor, and not to have been “shipped” as has already been the case with other face -to -face practitioners. The doctor finally told me that he suspected in me an “algo-dysfunctional syndrome of the mandatory apparatus”, or jaw joint disorder. He delivered me, in PDF format, two prescriptions-anti-inflammatory drugs to recover in pharmacies, and medical imaging to be made in the laboratory. Finally, the practitioner offered to contact us once the results of the MRI obtained, in order to address me if necessary to a specialist (in video or face -to -face).

But do not believe that doctors have the right to deliver everything via television: antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs thus require physical consultation. In addition, video consultations cannot give rise to medical certificates, which require a clinical examination. On the other hand, the practitioner can very well deliver prescriptions for non -psychotropic drugs, for biological examinations (from allergology to virology), medical imaging (MRI, radios), or even physiotherapy sessions.

Real benefits ..

At the time of the balance sheet, my feeling is shared. On the experience side, I must say that the video television that I experienced was perfect, apart from the initial technical hiccup. The video flow was of good quality, I heard my interlocutor very well, who was able to dialogue with me in a fluid way. The system which makes it possible to recover, in its personal space, a detailed report of tele-consultation, as well as the potential prescriptions (all this in PDF format, which can be printed or sent to the pharmacy by fax), turns out very convenient.

Let’s move on to the concrete profits of tele-consultation-it does not matter here whether it is Qare, Doctolib, or Livi, the principle and positive points are identical: thanks to video consultation, no need to take its day, or spend hours in transport to meet a doctor in a hurry. Here, the discussion is made, it lasts 15 to 20 minutes, during which the practitioner really listens to you. If I had a little stage fright, I quickly forgot that it was a video conversation.

Besides, you save time, and you do not go through the microbes nest that are the waiting rooms. It is appreciable that making an appointment is so simple, and that the consultation takes place in a close time, rather than weeks later: my video appointment took place after my registration, but some practitioners can you “Take” in the coming hour. This possibility of “seeing” a practitioner quickly is undeniably a positive point, which avoids non-recourse to care caused by discouragement or procrastination. Finally, the consultation being most of the time reimbursed by social security, no concern for wallets.

Now let’s move on to the gaps and limits of tele-consultation, as I tested it. First of all, important point, it is necessary to discuss with a video practitioner, a good connection, 4G or wifi. You must also have thought of connecting your laptop PC, or having loaded your smartphone well. On the medical side, the lack of “physical” and clinical examination still disturbed me. Admittedly, in my case, the doctor asked me to show him in front of my camera how I opened my jaw, and in other cases, he may ask you to show him a potential injury, or take your temperature. And if in doubt, redirect to a face -to -face consultation. But what about the risk of errors ?

… but also big limits

If doctors are able to be mistaken after a physical consultation, how to believe that practitioners are not likely to make a bad diagnosis via a video discussion – even with the most advanced interrogation possible ? Augustin Chatenet assures me that practitioners form the doctors who use his tools, so that they “do not miss the weak signals that patients can send”, and that the latter tend to “S ‘ Self-regulating “:” they do not do tele-culture when they have a cut finger or intense pain “, observes the QARE CPO. According to him, telemedicine is a real solution to “unclog” emergencies, reduce health transport, solve the problem of medical deserts, and save precious time to doctors as well as patients. “This will allow patients who came for an unsuitable pathology not to take medical time that could have been used for real emergencies. We are also fighting against self-medication and the use of Doctor Google … “, he said.

For Augustin Chatenet, tele-consultation must remain a “complementary” tool for face-to-face consultation. “We cannot replace the appointment in the office. There will always be a need for a clinical examination at one time or another. You have to keep this physical link … but only when you need it. And the video consultation can even bring the practitioner and his patient closer, ”he explains. In addition, faced with the risk of error, doctors are encouraged to “follow the evolution of the symptoms” of their patients, and if necessary, to redirect them to physical consultations. So reassured ? Yes, but not totally, and as it stands, in doubt, it is better to be confined to the use of tele-consultation for reasons that really require any clinical examination. “This system is very useful if you have questions to ask a practitioner, for example linked to pregnancy or contraception if it is a gynecologist, or to everything that worries you and for which you are would have no answer for a while in face -to -face, ”concludes the co -founder of Qare.

There remains the question of the future of the data I indicated in Qare. Admittedly, the company explains that everything is encrypted, that medical confidentiality is preserved, and that everything is stored in an approved health host, in a secure space. In addition, to connect, you need double strong authentication, with a unique code to enter, different each time. But the risk of hacking will always be present. And the start-up admits that if it does not have access to the data, it can still be exploited (in an anonymized version) by its “scientific committee”, in “a logic of use and Research goals “.

In the end, the most important limits remain the risk of error and the absence of data that only a clinical examination could provide. This is why Qare as doctolib are preparing to go to the next step, very soon (by fall 2019): “increased” tele-consultation thanks to connected objects. Medical devices that will soon be used in pharmacies (and one day more distant, at home), such as stethoscopes, otoscopes, dermatoscopes, or even tensiometers, capable of sending your main constants in real time and Other vital signs. In order to respond once and for everything to the fears of patients and practitioners ? To be continued next week, through my discovery of the medical IoT ..

Fabiensoyer published on 07/04/2019 at 10:52 PM | Updated on 07/09/2019

1 year of teleconsultation: Qare confirms its major player in access to care and patient monitoring.

In twelve months, more than 40,000 teleconsultations were carried out by QARE Partners health professionals.

Qare has established itself as an appeal solution for patients allowing them to access a video consultation within suitable deadlines: Qare allows them to request the advice of a general practitioner within deadlines compatible with their request, while ‘Sometimes you have to wait several days before you can consult a doctor in office.

Qare is also a solution to easily access different specialties. For example, this year, half of the teleconsultations concerned general medicine care; One in five corresponded to ENT care; one in ten to gynecology care.
In addition, 59 % of patients who use teleconsultation via Qare are women who are mostly aged 20 to 45.
Qare notes that 50 % of video consultations relate to requests for care of the usual first recourse while 50 % are related to the monitoring of patients (chronic pathologies, renewals, medical advice, etc.).
Qare is a solution of excellence: 98 % of patients are satisfied with the Qare teleconsultation solution and recommend it. 89 % of patients are not disturbed by the lack of physical examination.
These last twelve months have thus made it possible to demonstrate that teleconsultation was synonymous with the quality of the medical experience.

Qare’s success also corresponds to an evolution of exercise methods for health professionals.

With Qare, teleconsultation has become a new exercise modality for professionals from all horizons: the number of health professionals having chosen to use Qare has been multiplied by 4 in a year. These professionals favor the features offered by Qare: 98 % of them are satisfied with the use of the solution. Qare allows these health professionals to better follow their patients.
After general practitioners, dermatologists, pediatricians and gynecologists are the most consulted specialists via Qare.
Qare supports all these professionals in the evolution of their practice and contributes to their training in telemedicine. This logic of partnership with the medical world is at the heart of Qare’s DNA.

Qare confirms its position as a reference partner for the public authorities

Qare is the only French telemedicine actor to offer both follow -up (teleconsultation to improve patient monitoring) as well as access (teleconsultation to facilitate access to care of patients who are distant).
This double model is fully part of the objectives set by the public authorities, in particular with regard to the fight against inequalities in access to care, the fight against medical deserts, the development of prevention, the monitoring of chronic pathologies , etc.
Through its unique positioning, Qare confirms its position as a major and innovative player in health.
In the coming years, Qare intends to contribute even more to the efficiency of the French health system by facilitating patient monitoring and all access to care.

About Qare

Qare is a video consultation solution that is aimed at all patients and all health professionals. Qare facilitates access to French care and allows practitioners to improve monitoring of their patients in addition to consultations in office. All partner practitioners who use Qare are graduates and exercise in France. Qare is accessible 7 days a week, on a computer, tablet or smartphone, and already brings together almost 36 different specialties. Qare is focusing on the quality of the medical experience and supports practitioners in the evolution of their practice thanks to its training offer. Qare now has more than 60 employees divided into France.