The questions and demands of the general practitioner

The road towards telemedicine is littered with pitfalls

As a general practitioner and researcher at Société Scientifique de Médecine Générale, Dr Serge Boulanger recalled that Belgium had almost 12,000 general practitioners in 2007. 22% of GPs are aged under 40 and a majority of these are women, while 65% are aged between 40 and 60 and are mainly men in a single-doctor practice. 13% are older than 60. While overall they recognise that telemonitoring could be a method for reducing costs in the facing of population ageing and prove to be a real opportunity in practice, they emphasise the central position that the patient and his GP should retain and emphasise their demands: the seriousness of suppliers, the reliability of data, a simple mode for transmitting it, etc. The success of the operation is based on the patient’s informed consent, on his and his GP’s satisfaction, added value in terms of diagnosis or monitoring the pathology, medical secrecy, etc. Not meeting these demands or attaining these safeguards for success means the risk of not convincing general practitioners, emphasises Dr Boulanger: “They are real rebels!” And it is necessary to point out that there will be obstacles: a lack of time, needs for information and training, costs, occasionally difficult involvement in innovative projects and technical developments without forgetting medico-legal and legal responsibilities, technical aspects, data securitisation and the question of home visits.