SOS Médecins is a French emergency medical service. It allows you to request a home consultation or a teleconsultation. When to call them? What number ? What price ? Is it reimbursed?
SOS Médecins is a service that allows a patient to receive the visit of a doctor directly at home (or a teleconsultation as needed) and this, 365 days a year and 24 hours a day. At night, during a public holiday or a Sunday… for example, or if you can’t leave your home. When to call SOS Doctors? What is the price a consultation with SOS Médecins? Is it reimbursed? Practical information.
What is SOS Doctors?
SOS Doctors is a federation of associations French created in 1966. This is’a liberal home emergency medical service which allows you to request home consultation or teleconsultation. SOS Médecins brings together more than 1,300 independent doctors, specialists in general medicine, experienced and experienced in emergencies. These doctors are grouped into 63 associations which cover the entire national territory French (in Metropolitan France and Overseas). This network offers permanent care 365 days a year and 24 hours a day, thus making it possible to maintain continuity and equality of access to care, in particular during the usual closing hours of medical practices (holidays, nights, Sundays, etc.) and unclog the emergency room.
When to call SOS Doctors?
SOS Médecins provides permanent care when the offices of general practitioners are closed or not available. Anyone can call SOS Doctors in the event of an urgent medical problem (discomfort with loss of consciousness, serious burn, domestic accident, etc.). For example, if:
► Your attending physician is absent or cannot see you
► Medical surgeries are closed as at night, on Sunday, on a public holiday…
What is the number for SOS Médecins?
SOS Médecins can be reached by telephone at 3624 (For 365 days a year And 24h/24). This number is not free : a call costs 15 euro cents per minute. SOS Médecins being interconnected with the 15 (SAMU), it can switch a patient to the SAMU, after regulation and qualification of the request and vice versa.
Yes, it is possible to contact SOS Médecins from their website. To do this, you must identify yourself with FranceConnect or using your SOS Médecins identifiers (if you have already used this service for the first time) to have access to making appointments.
You can ask a doctor to come to your house or you can also go (if your condition allows it) to the SOS Médecins office located near your home. There hotlines map is available on the SOS Médecins website.
If you would like a doctor to come to your home, here are the steps to follow:
► 1/ Contact SOS Doctors: the SOS Médecins teams take your call as soon as possible so that you can send them:
- Your identity: surname, first name, date of birth
- Your place of residence: address, access details (digicode, floor), telephone number
- Your reason for consultation: describe your symptoms and specify your medical history.
► 2/ Preparing for the consultation: while waiting for the doctor, prepare all the elements that can help the care. Don’t forget to stay reachable on the number left during the initial contact. In case of difficulty of access, the doctor could be brought to join you.
- orders
- Letters: specialists, hospitalizations…
- Contacts: attending physician, family circle
- Health Book (for children)
- Carte vitale, mutual & Third-Party Payer or CMU certificate
► 3/ During the consultation: as soon as he arrives at your home, the doctor will take care of you:
- Examination
- Physical examination
- Diagnostic
- Drafting prescriptions and other administrative tasks as needed
- Creation of an internal file at SOS Médecins: to ensure your follow-up
- Payment of fees (credit card, check, cash)
► 4/ Post-consultation follow-up: to facilitate your medical follow-up, the team will:
- Create an internal file: facilitating your support for subsequent consultations
- Inform your doctor (if necessary): mail, duplicate results
How much does an SOS Médecins consultation cost?
The doctors belonging to SOS Médecins are self-employed doctors organized on the same model as a classic group practice governed by a joint practice contract. They are contracted sector 1. The fees vary according to the schedule, the acts performed and include mileage costs depending on the municipality. Concerning payment and reimbursement methods, most doctors are equipped with a payment terminal acting as a vital card reader. Payment can be made by credit card, check or cash.
Main rates for acts carried out during visits (based on Social Security rates excluding mileage costs)
| Home visit during the day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. | 35 euros |
|---|---|
| Visit Saturday after 12 noon, Sunday and public holiday | 55 euros |
| Visit at night from 8 p.m. to midnight and from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. | 71 euros |
| Visit at night from midnight to 6am | 84.50 euro |
| Increase for children from 0 to 6 years old | 5 euros |
Is it reimbursed?
The reimbursement rate for SOS Médecins is the same as for a traditional doctor, i.e. 70% of base rate social security compared to the basic rate of 25 euros, i.e. 17.50 euros (reimbursement can only be made on presentation of the vital card or the sending of a care sheet). On the other hand, the increases applied (mileage costs, increases according to timetables, increase for children) are not taken into account in the reimbursement, except in certain cases: seniors over 80, pregnant women over 6 months, beneficiaries of the APA… Once you have obtained reimbursement from Social Security, you can claim a reimbursement of 30% from your health insurance fund.
► Example for a visit by SOS Médecins on a public holiday: Social Security will reimburse 70% of 25 euros, i.e. 17.50 euros. You will still have to pay 55-17.50 = 37.50 euro. Once you have obtained reimbursement from Social Security, you can claim a reimbursement of 30% from your mutual insurance company on the basis of 25 euros, i.e. 7.50 euros (not all mutuals reimburse).
Sources: Major risk prevention, Gouvernement.fr website / SOS Médecins official website