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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director)
One year after the launch of the campaign against the health divide in France, UFC Que Choisir unveils a new survey once again reflecting the difficulties of access to care for the French. How to explain this situation? Dr Gérald Kierzek, medical director of Doctissimo, puts forward several reasons.
In an exclusive survey that it reveals today, UFC Que Choisir once again demonstrates the worsening of the health divide in France. The most deprived French people are also the most affected by this difficulty in accessing care.
Two thirds of French people believe their access to care has “recently deteriorated”
For many years, the consumer association has been evaluating access to healthcare for the French and has noted its progressive deterioration. Every four years, its study (the last was carried out in 2022) concretely illustrates access to different doctors (general practitioners and certain specialists).
To try to move the lines, UFC Que Choisir launched its campaign last year #MyHealthNwaitMore. She also filed an appeal with the Council of State, to denounce “the inaction of the State to reduce the health divide“.
Today she published a survey in which “69% of French people believe their access to care has recently deteriorated“.
Nearly one in two French people give up seeking treatment
The consequences for these French people are visible and “very concrete” according to the consumer association, which reveals that “45% of our fellow citizens have given up seeking treatment over the last year, whether due to a lack of available appointments or due to excess fees that they could not afford.“.
The most modest are thus the greatest victims of the situation, because “only 9% of people whose annual income exceeds €48,000 report poor health, while this figure rises to 19% for those whose income is less than €24,000.
At the same time, “42% of these latter people also declare that they suffer from chronic disease, compared to 34% among the wealthiest. the survey further reveals.
Restoring the attractiveness of care professions
Today, the consumer association wants to make things happen and is putting forward several proposals:
- “The establishment of a territorial agreement for doctors, no longer allowing them to settle in over-endowed areas, with the exception of sector 1 (Social Security rate) when the situation requires it (replacement of a doctor retiring or area largely under-resourced with doctors in sector 1);
- The closure of access to sector 2 (free fees) at the origin of the uncontrolled development of fee overruns. New doctors should only have the choice between a sector 1 with fees without excesses and the Option of controlled pricing practice (OPTAM), which regulates fee excesses.
When questioned, Dr Gérald Kierzek sees things differently. “Putting a gun to doctors’ heads will not solve the problem. We must restore the attractiveness of the profession and the regions. Doctors settle down and stop their activity… They are isolated, because local hospitals and maternity wards close… like other public services“.
For the doctor, “care requires empathy, not coercion”. “This country must change its software and understand that the health system must trust its doctors again. Because all the administrative constraints, in particular, have led to these medical deserts“. Before concluding: “Let’s not forget that if doctors are happy, patients will be happy too.”
Slide: Consultation: what are these procedures performed by your doctor for?