Letters: Online bookings for French medical appointments are a mess

To the Editor,

This push for everyone to book online is causing far more problems than it solves, mainly in the form of wasted time and resources because most of us have limited medical knowledge.

I recently saw a specialist in Montpellier (recommended by my GP and booked over the phone) and, a few weeks later, attended a follow-up scan, expecting to be given a clean bill of health.

When are doctor fees rising in France and will reimbursement be affected?

Just as I was putting on my coat, the specialist explained that I was far from okay and proceeded to hit me at speed with a prescription for medicines, another for a long list of blood tests, another for a different type of scan (for me to source and book myself), plus a letter starting ‘Cher confrère’ but addressed to no one in particular, to give to “a vascular surgeon” and please shut the door behind you…

I walked away from the clinic, wondering if I had understood it all correctly, phoned the local hospital for advice (they pushed back), attempted to phone a surgeon, listened to repeated please call back later messages and, for the first time since Covid vaccinations, booked an appointment on Doctolib, choosing the only surgeon at the local hospital without a four-month waiting list.

Read more: Why do some French GPs charge more than others?

A few days later, I looked more closely at the paperwork and discovered I had booked, not a vascular surgeon but a cardio-vascular surgeon.

I phoned again and this time managed to get through to his secretary who informed me I had in fact (a) made the correct choice of surgeon ‘as he does both’ and (b) failed to describe my medical requirements accurately on Doctolib.

Yesterday, following a visit to a different specialist, I attempted by phone to book an ‘arthro-scanner’ for my husband, listened to repeated suggestions to book online, then saw warnings on the site about ‘arthro-scanner’ being entirely different from ‘scanner’.

Read more: Letters: French GP is charging more than he should for consultation

As the system claimed to have almost no clinics that carried out the right type of scan and no appointments before mid-April next year, I phoned and managed to get him the correct type of appointment in December.

Whatever happened to each medical professional booking you an appointment with the next one (or at least providing the name of someone you can contact yourself)?

I consider myself to be reasonably intelligent, but can just imagine the mistakes that get made, especially by elderly people who are most likely to require these treatments, now we are all suddenly supposed to have enough confidence to choose and book everything ourselves.

Catherine Dekker, by email

Have you had an issue when booking appointments through Doctolib? Let us know at letters@connexionfrance.com