The consumer association Que Choisir calls for “shock therapy” to improve access to care

The consumer association Que Choisir is calling on the public authorities to “shock therapy” to improve French people’s access to healthcare. In a study published on Monday April 3, it asks in particular to tackle the “dogma of total freedom of installation” liberal doctors. “More than ever, regulation of the installation of doctors” by the public authorities “is an emergency in France”she wrote. “Because there is a shortage of doctors, we must rationalize the offer by prioritizing the most under-resourced areas”says the association.

Que Choisir reminds us that “the supply of liberal medicine, already sluggish, will deteriorate: by 2030, the density of liberal doctors will drop by 5%”. This degradation of the liberal medical offer will contribute to clog a little more the emergencies of the hospitals, already bloodless, warns the association. Indeed, according to his econometric study, “a 1% decrease in the density of private doctors in a department increases the activity of its emergencies by up to 0.6% in the short term, and up to 0.9% in the long term”.

The departments already understaffed in liberal doctors will be the most affected, since they are generally those where the average age of practitioners is the highest, notes the association.