SNCF will install telemedicine centers in around 300 stations to combat medical deserts

The SNCF will deploy telemedicine spaces to combat medical deserts in around 300 stations by 2028, announced SNCF Gares et Connexions on Friday November 17. The stations selected to benefit from the system will be “located in priority intervention zones (ZIP) and concerted development zones (ZAC), characterized by an insufficient supply of care and difficulty in accessing care”or 1,735 potential stations, explains the subsidiary of the railway group which manages the nearly 3,000 French stations in a press release.

“Ten million people pass through stations every day and 90% of the population lives less than 10 km from a station”, underlined Raphaël Poli, general retail director at Gares et Connexions, in order to justify the relevance of the system. To deploy this offer, the SNCF subsidiary chose the company Loxamed, created in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic and owned by the public works rental company Loxam and the company Capitello Med, specializing in connected medical solutions.

Boxes on station forecourts

Loxamed had already installed Covid-19 screening centers on the forecourts of major French stations at the end of 2020. Initially, the telemedicine spaces will be installed in “boxes of 15 m2 on the station forecourts, during the work in the stations”indicated Arnaud Molinié, president of Loxamed, while promising “comfortable, welcoming places to take good care of patients during teleconsultations”.

A state-certified nurse will always be present on site and the patient will be “examined remotely by a doctor practicing on French territory”, according to SNCF Gares et Connexions. Loxamed will contact the regional unions of health professionals in order to find independent nurses available to participate in the system and independent doctors “who could make time for that”detailed Arnaud Molinié.