investigation opened in Montpellier for illegal exercise of the profession

This end of summer is decidedly eventful at Doctolib. A few days ago, the medical appointment booking platform was the target of criticism from doctors and patients who accused it of referencing naturopaths – a discipline with no medical basis – some of whom have very controversial profiles. Doctolib has since suspended 17 accounts and promised to “engage in substantive work” with its medical committee, the orders (including doctors) and health professionals.

In the case that we are revealing to you today, it is not about esoteric disciplines, but about fake doctors who were registered on the platform. The Montpellier prosecutor’s office opened an investigation in July for “illegal exercise of

medicine” against two crooks who pretended to be psychiatrists. The deception was discovered thanks to a patient, who denounced the facts and filed a complaint.

Carole R. has two children aged 10 and 11. They have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (called ADHD) and are being treated with Ritalin [c’est le nom du médicament NDLR]. The prescription for their treatment must be renewed every 28 days. On June 11, Carole’s usual psychiatrist being on leave, she made an appointment on Doctolib with a certain David Cantat, who specified on his account that his replacement was called Laura Smith (screenshot below).

The practitioner has many availabilities. Carole therefore makes an appointment for June 18 for a teleconsultation which will be provided by her replacement (screenshot below).

On the day of the remote meeting, Carole connects to the platform. “Thirty minutes before the consultation, I received a link from Doctolib inviting me to join the virtual waiting room,” explains the mother. “I click on it but the connection is bad. I try again several times without success”, she continues. “Finally Dr. Laura Smith calls me on my cell phone, tells me that she can’t connect either and that we are going to do the consultation on Whatsapp.” On the app, Carole turns on her camera but not Dr. Smith, who says his isn’t working. “At that time, I had a first alert, explains Carole, but since I really need this prescription and I trust Doctolib, I decide to continue.” Follows a consultation that Carole describes as “lunar”.

“My children’s condition is called ADHD. So I spoke to her with this abbreviation but I could see that she did not understand. The teleconsultation ends. Dr. Smith indicates that she will send the prescription to Doctolib’s secure messaging service.

Carole will never receive the prescription for her children. On the other hand, the “psychiatrist” sends him a manifestly false care sheet.

Suspicious, she decides to make an opposition on her bank card so that the amount of the consultation is not debited to her.

“I am especially worried about my children’s medical files, which I had sent before the consultation via Doctolib to this Laura Smith”, she tells us. His children come under the MDPH (Departmental House for the Disabled), they are eligible for school support and financial aid.

Carole reports the incident to Doctolib on June 21, 2022. In the process, she files a complaint with the Montpellier prosecutor’s office. She also alerts her usual psychiatrist, Doctor P., who quickly realizes that she has been dealing with a fake doctor. Doctor P., seeing that the profile of Doctor Cantat and Laura Smith is still online, decides to also write to Doctolib.

An adviser from the platform then replied (see below) that the registration procedure “starts first with an identity check.

Then a period of 15 days is granted to health professionals to receive the supporting documents as part of a verification of the right to practice”.

Doctors David Cantat and Laura Smith were therefore able to give consultations via Doctolib while they were “being installed” on the platform.

This case challenged the Departmental Council of the Order of Physicians of Hérault, which also filed a complaint in Montpellier. “Obviously, no prior check was undertaken”, explains the president of the departmental council, Doctor Philippe Cathala. “The least you could do is check before registering [sur Doctolib, NDLR]”. When asked, Doctolib recognizes this “15-day period” during which a doctor can use the platform without his right to practice having been verified. But Doctolib adds: “Since we became aware of this case, we have been working to strengthen our control procedures so that no practitioner can use our services until their identity and right to practice have been checked”.

The National Council of the Order of Physicians (CNOM) recalls that there is a very simple way to know if a doctor has the right to practice. Just go to the CNOM website (see below), all practitioners are referenced there via their RPPS number, a registration number given to each doctor at the start of their career. Without this number, a doctor does not have the right to practice.