Digital healthcare in France
68.5 M
inhabitants (2024)
11.5% of GDP
dedicated to healthcare expenses (2024)
1st country
European investment in digital healthcare
The French healthcare system is centralized and covers anyone who works or resides in France on a stable and regular basis. The basic compulsory health insurance schemes operate on the principle of solidarity: they are financed by contributions on income. Since the creation of the Regional Health Agencies (ARS) in 2010, the system has been decentralized by developing responsibilities at regional level, in order to better adapt to local contexts and strengthen dialogue with territorial players. The 18 ARS now coordinate prevention, care and support at regional level.
The Ministry of Health oversees patient care andthe Assurance Maladie ensures reimbursement of healthcare expenses.
The Délégation au numérique en santé (DNS) provides national leadership for all digital health initiatives, including the"Digital health" acceleration strategy (SASN) of France 2030 and the "Ségur du numérique en santé". The Agence du Numérique en Santé (ANS), the operational arm of the DNS, publishes the repositories and corpus of the Politique générale de sécurité des systèmes d'information de santé (PGSSI-S). It also participates in e-health projects throughout France, such as the implementation of the Identité Nationale de Santé (INS) or the common e-health authentication service, Pro Santé Connect.
France, a driving force in digital healthcare at European level
The digital health roadmap(2023-2027) structures France's digital health strategy and proposes a dynamic and ambitious multi-year action plan to put digital at the service of health.
The Système National des Données de Santé (SNDS) is the largest medico-administrative database and enables the chaining of data from multiple sources (Assurance Maladie, health establishments, causes of death and still many others). Any person or structure, public or private, can access SNDS data with authorization from the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), with a view to carrying out a study, research or evaluation of public interest.
For more information on the state of digital health in Europe, click here.
Telehealth in France
In France, telehealth is defined by a legal framework (L6316-1 and 2 of the Public Health Code) and corresponds to a patient's remote access to a healthcare professional or medical team thanks to new technologies, it is divided into telemedicine for medical professionals and telecare for medical auxiliaries.
Today, 4 activities are covered by the Assurance Maladie: telesurveillance, telerexpertise, teleconsultation and telecare.
In France, the telehealth offer is intended to be listed on the Répertoire Opérationnel des Ressources (ROR), a digital platform for healthcare professionals. Thus, it will be possible for healthcare professionals, to consult online how to access a teleconsultation, tele-expertise, telesurveillance or telecare offer for their patients.
How do you access the French market?
The points below present various useful steps for accessing the French market. They do not follow a mandatory order.
1. Setting up a business with the help of Bpifrance
Discover the 6 steps involved in setting up a business on the Bpifrance website. From defining your project to finding financing, via choosing the right legal structure, the BPI is there to support you.
Find aids and subsidies for your development in France on the search engine Aides-Territoires G_NIUS.
2. Look for further financing with G_NIUS repayment fact sheets
Do you want your solution to be covered by the Assurance Maladie, via a medical or nursing procedure, or purchased by a healthcare establishment?
Discover all the reimbursement terms and conditions to which you may be entitled thanks to the G_NIUS.
reimbursement fact sheets.3. Assess the compliance of a digital solution on the Convergence platform
The ANS is operating a one-stop shop to enable manufacturers to have their DMNs certified to the safety and interoperability requirements demanded for reimbursement thanks to its Convergence platform.
This is a national platform for assessing the compliance of digital services and solutions implemented by digital healthcare companies, and for applying for referencing or certification schemes. It provides you with the tools you need to apply for referencing or certification schemes: Mon espace santé service catalog, SAS (Service d'Accès aux Soins), digital medical devices.
4. Apply for digital advance care (PECAN)
The PECAN allows for one-year derogatory reimbursement by the Assurance Maladie of presumed innovative digital medical devices. This early reimbursement allows the operator to finalize the demonstration of clinical and/or organizational benefit while being deployed its solution in patients. More information on PECAN can be found on its dedicated page.
The dossiers will be evaluated by the National Commission for the Evaluation of Medical Devices and Health Technologies (CNEDiMTS) of the French National Authority for Health (HAS) and by the French Agency for Digital Health (ANS).
Info en + : To benefit from PECAN, it is not compulsory to set up your company in France, but you must have at least one entity in Europe. On the other hand, to bill the Caisse Nationale de l'Assurance Maladie (CNAM), you need an entity in France, although it is possible to do without, by going through an agent/provider.
Government authorities
In charge of evaluation and legislation of health products.
Associations and unions
They bring companies together and facilitate their incubation
.National support and innovation initiatives
They bring together and facilitate the incubation of new technologies
.Regional and local support and innovation initiatives
The training framework
Since 2024, digital healthcare has been taught in initial training courses for the 14 professional categories in the healthcare sector on the following topics: healthcare data, cybersecurity, communication, tools and software, and finally telehealth.