Consultation on the functional standard for telecare software

Innovation

16/06/2021

The functional standard for telecare software is open for consultation until 9 July 2021.

Following up on the work of co-creating the functional standard for teleconsultations and tele-expertise published in June 2020, work on drafting a functional standard for telecare software was carried out in 2021.

Telecare is a remote professional practice introduced by the law on the organisation and transformation of the health system (OTSS law), in application of the "My Health 2022" strategy. It aims to facilitate access to care for patients and improve coordination between health professionals.

18 professions concerned by telecare under article R6316-2 of the French Public Health Code are pharmacists and medical auxiliaries, who include:

  • Nurses
  • Physiotherapists
  • Pedicurists
  • Occupational therapists
  • Psychomotor therapists
  • Speech-language pathologists
  • Orthoptists
  • Dietitians
  • Radiographers
  • Medical laboratory technicians
  • Hearing aid professionals
  • Opticians
  • Prosthetists and orthotists providing assistive devices to people with disabilities
  • Orthoprosthetists
  • Podiatrists
  • Ocularists
  • Epithesists
  • Orthopaedic surgeons

Telecare given a boost by the pandemic

To allow for remote continuity of care in the COVID-19 pandemic, the government authorised the use of telecare earlier than expected. Telecare was authorised on a special basis in March 2020 for the tele-nursing of COVID-19 patients, and was then extended to other medical auxiliaries (speech therapists, occupational therapists, psychomotor therapists, physiotherapists, orthoptists, pedicurists and dietitians), and to pharmacists, under the order of 10 July 2020 prescribing the necessary organisational and operational measures necessary for the health system to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic during the public health emergency.
Decree no. 2021-707 of June 3, 2021 and the order of June 3, 2021 defining telecare activities were published on June 4, 2021 in the Journal Officiel and specify the conditions for implementing and paying for telecare.

A functional standard resulting from collaborative, iterative work

During the development of the telecare functional standard, 9 professions were granted special early authorisation to practice telecare activities. All of the organisations representing these nine professions contributed to the construction of this functional standard, which was submitted for a first reading to each of the GCS/GRADeS that implement regional health platforms integrating telecare services.

A consultation process that is part of a participatory approach

Despite the collaborative approach to building the standard, not everyone involved in the development or use of telecare was able to participate in the work. Through this consultation process, the ANS wishes to collect as much feedback as possible in order to strengthen the document and make it a useful, usable tool for as many people as possible

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