Teleconsultation booths at the service of vaccination

Easier access to vaccines since March 15

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For several months now, vaccination has been the main preoccupation of the French government and its citizens.

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To date, this is undoubtedly the most effective way of combating the spread of the virus, but the vaccination process is still fairly complex and restrictive.

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To enable as many eligible people as possible to receive their dose of vaccine quickly, French Health Minister Olivier Véran finally authorized pharmacists to vaccinate patients against the covid-19 virus from March 15.

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A response to strong demand from pharmacists

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Since the opening of vaccination centers and general practitioners, pharmacists have consistently expressed their desire to play a key role in the vaccination process.

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Accustomed to vaccination processes since the September 2018 decree authorizing them to administer vaccines against the flu virus, pharmacists had been waiting for a government authorization allowing them to take their place in this vaccination pathway.

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Although the Minister of Health promised them the rapid publication of a new decree enabling them to vaccinate eligible people, it was still two and a half months before pharmacists could also offer vaccination.

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On March 15, pharmacists were given a major role in the French vaccination process, following a decree published by Olivier Véran.

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Since then, the daily number of people vaccinated has risen steadily.

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Teleconsultation optimizes your healthcare pathway

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To date, more than a hundred pharmacies in France have chosen to equip themselves with a teleconsultation booth to put their customers in touch with a GP or specialist in just a few minutes. A choice that is much appreciated by patients, and even more so during this pandemic, and particularly since March 15, when pharmacists were authorized to vaccinate eligible people.

You may not be aware of this, but vaccinations are only given under medical prescription, so it's not possible to go to a pharmacy to get vaccinated without first going to the doctor.

Nevertheless, pharmacies equipped with teleconsultation booths can offer their customers a shorter vaccination course in terms of time and effort.

Thanks to the medical booth, people can be put in touch with a GP in less than fifteen minutes.

Following this consultation, the doctor can issue the patient with a prescription so that he or she can be vaccinated as quickly as possible. Thanks to the printer included in the teleconsultation booth, patients can pick up their prescription on the spot, and receive their first dose of vaccine as soon as they leave the booth.

This time-saving feature is much appreciated by patients, who can combine these two steps into a single one and avoid having to make two visits.

Towards the democratization of teleconsultation?

At least, that's the aim of Tessan, a company specializing in the development of increasingly innovative medical aids.

Thanks to the cabins, terminals Tessan's teleconsultation cabins, kiosks and cases will enable pharmacies, local authorities, nursing homes and nurses, for example, to offer the French alternative solutions for rapid treatment under optimum conditions.

Offering patients the option of obtaining a prescription for covid-19 vaccination directly from their pharmacy is therefore a doubly beneficial solution: it improves the vaccination pathway, while encouraging more people to discover teleconsultation.

The ultimate goal?

The fight against medical deserts, which are still widespread throughout France. These areas, where it is impossible to receive rapid medical care, represent a major challenge, as the presence of medical deserts has many harmful consequences for the health of the French: increased self-medication, worsening of certain untreated pathologies, overloading of the emergency services of the nearest hospitals, etc.

While the French government plans to introduce new measures to combat this phenomenon in the coming years, Tessan intends to play its part in improving access to care for all sufferers, thanks to innovative technological solutions such as the medical cabin.

In conclusion...

While many French people are still waiting for a dose of vaccine, either because they don't have an appointment or because they are not yet eligible, there is no doubt that the growing presence of teleconsultation booths in pharmacies will speed up and optimize the vaccination process.

In the long term, this more than favorable boost will have played an important role in the eradication of the virus.

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