The digital Vitale card is now available for 23 departments, via the apCV mobile application. Still in the experimental phase, it offers the same functions as its physical counterpart with some advantages.
The arrival of the digital Vitale card (or Vitale e-card) is becoming a little more concrete every day! The deployment of the precious sesame, accessible via the application of the same name in beta version on Android and iOS, is being done gradually. While it was only available in eight departments last year, the experiment extends to twenty-three departments.
The twenty-three departments eligible for the dematerialized Vitale card are: Ain (01), Allier (03), Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04), Hautes-Alpes (05), Alpes-Maritimes (06), Ardèche ( 07), Bouches-du-Rhône (13), Cantal (15), Drôme (26), Isère (38), Loire (42), Haute-Loire (43), Loire-Atlantique (44), Puy-de- Dôme (63), Bas-Rhin (67), Rhône (69), Saône-et-Loire (71), Sarthe (72), Savoie (73), Haute-Savoie (74), Seine-Maritime (76), Var (83) and Vaucluse (84).
An approach which is part of the digitization of official French documents. Please note, the digital Vitale card is not intended to replace the physical version, it is only a matter of offering an alternative to users. We take stock!
Digital Vitale Card: who is affected?
As it had promised, the Government is continuing its digitalization of public services. A movement now widespread in our society, particularly for transport tickets and stamps. Thus, after the digital identity card with France Idabilité and the digital driving license, it is the good old Vitale card which is gradually transitioning to a dematerialized version. The goal: to ensure the digital shift in health and “streamline relations between health professionals and policyholders”. So, a decree published on December 28, 2022 and entered into force on 1er January 2023 confirmed the deployment of the Vitale e-card on French territory in the course of 2023 – it must be offered to all socially insured persons by December 31, 2025. It also defines the “characteristics of the means of electronic identification of insured persons and health professionals”.
The transition from a physical Vitale card to a digital one does not happen in the blink of an eye, fortunately. Rhône and Alpes-Maritimes have been in the testing phase since 2019, followed by Saône-et-Loire, Seine-Maritime, Bas-Rhin, Hérault, Loire-Atlantique, Sarthe and Puy-de -Dome. Opening to the rest of France was planned for 2023 thanks to the decree, but a delay in deployment – quite usual with the Government – postponed it to 2024. The fact remains that the device must be generally installed and usable on the the entire territory by 2026. The Vitale card application is available on Android And iOS. People affiliated with a Health Insurance organization, the MSA or the MGEN in these departments, who are at least 16 years old and are not under guardianship can already use it, provided that their smartphone runs iOS 7 or Android 12 at least. On the other hand, users who do not live in the territories concerned will be informed that “You are not eligible” and will be invited to go to the site applicartevitale.fr.
Please note, the latest update introduces a new eligibility criterion, since you must now have opened an account or an insured space online on the website of your health insurance organization to benefit from it.
For the moment, the decree does not imply any constraint in having to switch to a digital Vitale card, so it is entirely possible to keep your little piece of green plastic. It is more of an alternative solution to the physical format. Let’s hope that this does not become mandatory, because that would accentuate the digital divide, especially for older people who are not very comfortable with technology and those who do not own a smartphone. Obviously, everyone is only allowed one active Vitale card, available in both physical and digital format.
The dematerialized Vitale card is accessible to everyone on smartphones and tablets via an application called apCV – it is available in beta version on the Play Store and the App Store. It contains all the user’s identification data, namely the national health identifier (INS) and usage monitoring data, and allows access to SESAM-Vitale billing (teletransmission), to teleservices. integrated compulsory health insurance (AMO) and pharmaceutical files (for pharmacists). Additionally, an Internet connection is not required to use the application.
When installing and configuring the application, the user must provide their NIR (social security number), a valid identity document (passport, identity card or residence permit), an address personal email and a selfie in order to perform facial recognition with the photo on their identity document. Then, you must either scan your vital card via the Photo application on your smartphone, or enter your numbers manually. The user receives a security code at the email address linked to their health insurance space. Then, he must set a four-digit password to protect his data.
The configuration process only takes five minutes, but once the activation request has been made, the identity must be verified by Health Insurance services. The digital Vitale card is therefore not immediately functional; you must wait forty-eight hours. During the consultation, the healthcare professional will only have to scan the QR code displayed in the application or use an NFC reader on which the patient places their smartphone – as for contactless payments. Health Insurance recommends that healthcare professionals use the QR Code option as a priority because not all smartphones are equipped with NFC technology – especially when it comes to entry-level smartphones.
Digital Vitale Card: what are the advantages?
As a reminder, the Vitale card allows the healthcare professional to establish an electronic care sheet instead of a paper care sheet, which allows the patient to be automatically reimbursed after one week, without having to carry out the slightest procedure with your Health Insurance organization. The digital Vitale card must offer the same functions as its physical counterpart, but with “innovative features” to promote the “digital deployment in the health sector”according to an opinion from the National Commission for Information Technology and Liberties (CNIL).
The main advantage of the Vitale e-card is to avoid forgetting things since there is a greater chance that a patient will have their smartphone with them than their Vitale card. As a result, it is supposed to simplify access to health data for patients and caregivers and ensure that teletransmissions are always ensured – it is very easy to lose a paper care sheet or forget it. send following a forgotten Vitale card. Likewise, it must secure the processing of care forms by avoiding problems, such as rejected invoices and errors, thanks to automatic access to the ADRi right service (Acquisition of Integrated Rights) – it allows a healthcare professional, via its approved software or billing equipment, to acquire the information concerning the medical-administrative situation of a care recipient necessary for the development of an Electronic Care Sheet (ESF).
The digital Vitale card must also make it possible to track healthcare expenses directly via the application, while limiting physical contact via the exchange of the card, and therefore contamination of the healthcare professional. In the future, apCV will include data from mutual insurance companies, and it will allow you to delegate your Vitale card to a trusted third party for a limited period – very practical for grandparents who look after their grandchildren, or when the sick person is confined. in bed and cannot go to the pharmacy to get their treatments – and to log in securely to online health services.
Digital Vitale Card: the app is coming, but under conditions
On Wednesday February 22, 2023, the National Commission for Information Technology and Liberties (CNIL) had made public his opinion to the Government, which approves the future Vitale card on smartphones. The body, however, identified several issues that must be taken into account in order to preserve the privacy and confidentiality of users, but also to avoid worsening the digital divide.
According to the recommendations of the CNIL, the user must have “the right to request support from your health insurance organization for the installation of the application”. A necessity to succeed in finding a “balance between offering an innovative digital service to simplify users’ daily lives and the need not to accentuate the digital divide. In addition, if it validates the use of facial recognition for the first installation of the “Carte Vitale” application by the user, this must end as quickly as possible, i.e. from the launch of SGIN, the service guarantee of digital identity, which will notably house the new electronic national identity card (CNIe), currently being deployed.