Doctolib is widely used for making appointments

Doctolib is the most widely used online appointment scheduling platform in France. It is also increasingly popular in Germany and Italy.

Many independent healthcare professionals, including GPs, specialists, dentists and psychiatrists as well as chiropractors, massage therapists and other alternative therapists, now use Doctolib as a consultation management service.

The platform launched in 2013 and is privately owned. Other similar platforms exist (e.g., Maiia, KelDoc, Allodocteur or Vitodoc) but Doctolib is by far the most popular and is used by more than 90 million patients in total.

It took off during the Covid pandemic when it helped people book vaccinations and tests, get online appointments via teleconsultation software, and receive prescriptions via secure messaging.

For patients, Doctolib is free and can be used to book a medical appointment and to search from thousands of listed health professionals via the database. It allows you to refine your search using filters such as name, languages spoken, specialism, or area. 

If you want to see a doctor quickly, you can click to go on a waiting list to be alerted in the case of a cancellation (though not all appointments offer this). 

Private patient-doctor messaging is also available, although not all doctors choose to activate it.

To use Doctolib, you can either download the Doctolib app on your phone or log on to doctolib.fr. The main page contains a search box to help you find the health professional of your choice. In some cases, records contain direct contact information, such as phone or email. Some people prefer this direct contact as not everyone is comfortable with using Doctolib due to privacy concerns.

Questions have been asked about access of Doctolib staff to patient data. However, the firm has official audited accreditation as a 'host of health data' and meets international information security standards. Doctolib was affected by a data breach in 2020 when some information of 6,128 patient users was stolen. The firm stressed it had stopped the attack, and no medical data was taken, only people's name, sex, and age.

As stated, Doctolib is cost-free for patients, but health professionals pay subscriptions to use various tools to help them organise their work – plus messaging systems to contact other professionals, such as a blood test lab or pharmacy. It recently launched an 'AI assistant' which can take notes and present relevant information to the doctor during the consultation (it does not record).

If you choose to use Doctolib to book an appointment, you must create an account on the website or app. You can do this by clicking on the top right-hand side button se connecter/gérer mes RDV. 

If you are a first-time user, you must select the Nouveau sur Doctolib option. You enter your phone number, email address, date of birth, and create a password.

Once you have access as a registered user, you may return to the search box and find the provider you are looking for. The system allows you to search their calendar and book an appointment from among the available time slots. 

The system will give you the option to receive notifications and reminders about your booking via email and/or text.