Telehealth: telemedicine (teleconsultation, telemonitoring...))

Verified 27 June 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)

Telemedicine is a remote medical practice via the path of new technologies. In particular, it makes it possible to establish a diagnosis, to ensure medical follow-up, to prescribe health products. It is reflected in particular in teleconsultation and remote monitoring. For example, teleconsultation allows the patient to consult his doctor via a computer, tablet or smartphone equipped with a webcam and connected to the internet.

Telemedicine comprises 5 concepts:

  • Teleconsultation
  • Remote monitoring
  • Teleexpertise
  • Teleassistance
  • Medical regulation carried out by the SAMU - centers 15.

Teleconsultation

Teleconsultation is for a medical professional to give a remote consultation to a patient. Another healthcare professional may be present with you and, if necessary, assist the medical professional remotely during the teleconsultation. Any insured person can benefit from teleconsultation. It is better reimbursed under the care pathway.

Regardless of your place of residence (including in overseas departments and regions), your age or your pathology, you can use teleconsultation.

The same applies to any doctor, whatever his specialty.

It is the attending physician who decides, on a case-by-case basis, and after having discussed with you, the use of teleconsultation. This includes your ability to communicate remotely and use digital. Your consent is required.

You and your doctor can suspend the teleconsultation at any time if it is not or no longer adapted to your health condition.

You can also request a teleconsultation. It is best to discuss this with your doctor.

FYI  

If you have symptoms of infection or recognized with Covid-19, you can resort to teleconsultation without going through your doctor.

Like any consultation, you have to make an appointment.

It is the doctor who sends you a link inviting you to connect from your home to a secure site or application, via a computer, tablet or smartphone. A webcam is required.

On the advice of your doctor, you can also go to a dedicated place equipped with video transmission installed nearby (examples: in a multiprofessional health house, a pharmacy equipped with a cabin or a teleconsultation trolley...).)

Please note

At the end of the appointment, the doctor writes a report. He archives it in his patient record and in your digital health space.

This report is sent to your attending physician (and the doctor who requested the procedure) to ensure coordinated care between health professionals.

In principle, to be taken care of, only a doctor from the same territory as yours can carry out the teleconsultation. There are exceptions.

Example :

If you live in an area where there is a lack of care, you have been referred by the healthcare access service regulator (SAS) in the event of a failure to make an appointment in the territory.

Teleconsultation is part of a care pathway that allows a refund. It is therefore necessary to get closer to your doctor.

However, this is not necessary if you are in any of the following situations:

  • You can already consult specialists in direct access (gynecologists, ophthalmologists, psychiatrists, neuropsychiatrists, pediatrics, oral surgery or maxillofacial surgery and stomatologists)
  • You are under 16
  • You are in an emergency situation
  • You do not have a doctor or your doctor is not available within a period compatible with your state of health
  • You're an inmate
  • You reside in a Ehpad: titleContent or in institutions that accommodate or accompany disabled adults, often far from their initial home.

Please note

In addition, teleconsultation must:

  • Respect the quality of care: a regular follow-up of the patient which is carried out alternately by consultations in person (on site) and teleconsultations according to your needs and the appreciation of the doctor

  • Be the subject of an oral communication (video transmission or telephone) between you and the health professional.

Tableau - Examples of teleconsultation tariffs

Doctor

Price list

General Practitioner

€25

Specialist out Optam: titleContent

€23

Specialist Optam

(excluding psychiatry, neurology, pediatrics and medical gynecology)

€30

Psychiatrist outside Optam

€42.50

Psychiatrist Optam

€50.20

Gynecologist outside Optam

€23

Gynecologist Optam

€32

The payment methods remain the same as for a consultation in the office.

The doctor will tell you how to pay for the teleconsultation. Examples: check, bank transfer, online payment solution.

As with any consultation, the third-party payer (advance waiver of medical expenses) is applied if you are in any of the following situations:

During a telemedicine procedure:

  • The healthcare professional may not prescribe sick leave for more than 3 days
  • A work stoppage already in progress can be renewed only if its total duration (1era period + renewal) does not exceed 3 days
  • No subsequent renewal of the work stoppage may be prescribed.

These rules do not apply when you are in any of the following cases:

  • The stoppage of work is prescribed or renewed by the referring doctor or midwife
  • You are unable to consult a professional to obtain, by a prescription made in his presence, an extension of the work stoppage.

FYI  

You cannot obtain a work stoppage via a telemedicine procedure performed by a health professional who is primarily active abroad.

Remote monitoring

Remote monitoring allows a medical professional to remotely interpret, through the use of a digital medical device, the patient's health data collected at his place of life and to make decisions relating to his care.

Remote monitoring can be set up if your care requires a period of medical follow-up.

It is particularly suitable if you are at risk of hospitalization or complication of your disease.

Examples: chronic pathologies, discharge from hospitalization.

A remote monitoring operator may be:

  • A medical professional alone
  • A liberal multi-professional team
  • A structure.

Example :

Health center, health facility, medico-social facility or service, interprofessional ambulatory care business

Like any medical procedure, the provision of medical remote monitoring is charged at a regulated amount.

You only have to pay this amount to the remote monitoring operator.

This amount shall be borne by 100% by the Health Insurance and your mutual as part of responsible packages.

Remote monitoring can be supported in 8 indications:

  • Heart failure
  • Renal failure
  • Respiratory failure
  • Diabetes
  • Implantable cardiac prostheses
  • Oncology
  • Common subacute (intermediate between acute and chronic) or chronic low back pain for some adult patients after a functional rehabilitation program provided as part of a hospital stay
  • Implantation of implantable cardiac monitor (ICM).

During a telemedicine procedure:

  • The healthcare professional may not prescribe sick leave for more than 3 days
  • A work stoppage already in progress can be renewed only if its total duration (1era period + renewal) does not exceed 3 days
  • No subsequent renewal of the work stoppage may be prescribed.

These rules do not apply when you are in any of the following cases:

  • The stoppage of work is prescribed or renewed by the referring physician or midwife
  • You are unable to consult a professional to obtain, by a prescription made in his presence, an extension of the work stoppage.

FYI  

You cannot obtain a work stoppage via a telemedicine procedure performed by a health professional who is primarily active abroad.

Other telemedicine procedures

The other telemedicine procedures are telemedicine, remote assistance and medical regulation carried out by the SAMU - centers 15.

Please note

The work stoppages prescribed in the context of telemedicine are subject to special rules. Thus, for example, a health professional cannot prescribe a sick leave of more than 3 days unless this professional is your attending physician.

Teleexpertise

Teleexpertise allows a health professional (nurse, speech-language pathologist...)) to seek the opinion of one or more medical professionals (doctor, midwife) remotely because of their particular training or skills, based on health information related to the care of a patient.

All medical situations are likely to be affected by teleexpertise.

For example, telemedicine can be used to give specialist advice to general practitioners (diabetology, cardiology, dermatology, etc.) or to ask for advice from rare specialties (e.g. oncology).

Medical remote assistance

The purpose of medical teleassistance is to enable a medical professional to assist another medical professional remotely during the performance of an act.

Medical regulation

The medical regulation carried out by the SAMU-centers 15 makes it possible to provide a remote medical response and to guide the patient in his care journey.

Telehealth allows a medical assistant (nurse, speech therapist, etc.) or a pharmacist to:

  • Taking charge of a patient
  • And to follow it remotely thanks to information and communication technologies.

All patients can benefit from telecare, for procedures that do not require direct contact and/or specific equipment not available from the patient.

It is the professional who evaluates whether the telecare is suitable for the patient.

The use of telecare is a shared decision of the patient and the professional.

FYI  

To be covered, a prescription made as part of telehealth must be the subject of an oral communication (videotransmission or telephone) between you and the health professional.

Who can help me?

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