French Government’s Efforts to Address Medical Shortages Met with Criticism from Court of Auditors

The Court of Auditors released a scathing report on Monday, criticizing the French government’s efforts to address medical shortages. The report highlighted several alternatives implemented in other countries, including the removal of compulsory medical certificates for short-term sick leave and replacing them with a simple self-declaration from the patient to their employer. However, this system would require establishing a waiting period without compensation.

The report also revealed that general practitioners spend a significant amount of time on administrative tasks related to work leave for short-term illnesses. Despite measures taken in the past decade to alleviate this burden, doctors have been placed in roles that do not align with their medical expertise.

Countries like Great Britain and Quebec in Canada have successfully shifted responsibility for managing very short work stoppages from medical certificates to dialogue between social partners and company-specific mechanisms. The Court suggested integrating records of these absences into each insured person’s digital health space for better monitoring during doctor visits.

Health Minister Frédéric Valletoux expressed openness to the proposed reforms, acknowledging the need to free up medical time while ensuring measures are in place to prevent abuse. The government is considering this avenue closely as part of a broader strategy to address the ongoing medical resource crisis.

Overall, the report emphasizes the importance of streamlining administrative processes to allow healthcare professionals to focus on their core responsibilities and addressing medical shortages through more efficient and patient-focused approaches.