We constantly complain about the desperately long delays in getting an appointment, doctors never on time and the long, very long times spent patiently waiting our turn in a waiting room filled with people and… germs. But some are not even lucky (yes, yes, it annoys us, but it's lucky!) to have even one doctor to treat them! This is the case of the small village of Oberbruck, in Alsace, which has been without a doctor for three years. The inhabitants went out of their way to attract one, in vain. The municipality has not dismantled, however, and has invested 50,000 euros in a medical practice... from a distance.
It is a device put in place to dialogue with a doctor orally and live without him being nearby. The inhabitants of the town go to a room where there is a screen, a camera and a nurse who assists the doctor from a distance. On the other side of the screen, the doctor examines the patient. He has a camera to zoom in on the parts of the body he wants to see more closely. The nurse, under the orders of the doctor, is responsible for doing everything that the latter cannot do remotely. Once the diagnosis has been established, the doctor sends the prescription which is printed on site. Very simple!
So, no need to go to the doctor anymore? (We can already hear the “Yippees”!) Not necessarily. Indeed, nothing replaces the consultation of a specialist in the flesh. Observation is not always enough to make a diagnosis. There are many other factors to take into account, such as touch, for example, and nurses do not necessarily have the skills to do so. Last point, and not least:if this practice has been legal in France since 2010, it is not reimbursed by social security. Oops…
