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Initiatives to promote access to vaccination for people who are far from the digital world

Published on 08 March 2021
Update on 26 September 2022
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Summary

  • The vaccination registration system has highlighted digital inequalities in the development of digital health tools. On February 17, a roundtable discussion organized by the National Assembly's Social Affairs Committee on "digital health at a time of health crisis" gave deputies the opportunity to question the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM) and the Ministerial Delegation for Digital Health (DNS) on the digital divide highlighted by the Covid-19 crisis.
Appointments for vaccination are made through the sante.fr website, which is supported by three platforms: Doctolib, Maiia and Keldoc. These platforms allow eligible people (according to age or medical criteria) to register in a center, even far from their place of residence.

While the main difficulty in obtaining an appointment results from the shortage of vaccines (which translates into a lack of available slots on the platforms), another difficulty results from the priority given to people aged 75 and over, who are often far away from digital technology: they often have to be assisted by relatives or caregivers to book a slot on these platforms.

The Covid-19 Monitoring and Liaison Committee (CCL-COVID, responsible for involving civil society and Parliament in operations to combat the spread of the epidemic) had recommended, in its opinion of July 19, 2021, the establishment of "a support system ... for people who are unable to obtain an appointment for vaccination. When a waiting system with a later reminder has been set up, it is imperative that it be effectively operational. Inequalities in access are exacerbated by the digital "divide. The appointment system must, for all territories, include a solution for people without telephone and internet access.

In addition to the online appointment booking platforms, the government has set up a national toll-free number: open every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., it redirects people to the switchboard of the nearest center or allows them to obtain assistance in making an appointment.

The case of Seine Saint Denis

" Not all of our residents have had access to vaccinations as they should have," explains Pierre Laporte, vice president of the departmental council in charge of health. " The digital divide affects a large number of people in Seine-Saint-Denis. We can't ask everyone to go on Doctolib to register for vaccinations. We need to set up structures capable of reaching out to people.

Several reports(Libération, Le Parisien, France Télévision, France Inter, L'express) reported that in January, vaccination centers in Seine Saint Denis were seeing "an influx of patients from neighboring departments, who are more connected and more aware of the possibilities of booking vaccination slots online. As a result, the inhabitants of the department are often in the minority among the beneficiaries of the Covid-19 vaccine".

According to the doctor in charge of a vaccination center in Pantin: " We opened our availability on the Doctolib platform on January 15. That evening, all the slots were full until the end of February. When we saw the first patients from the highest socio-professional categories, we realized how much the digital divide and social inequalities had still struck.

Since February 15, the CPAM has opened a vaccination center in Bobigny specifically dedicated to populations far from the healthcare system. The target groups are contacted directly by the CPAM, the Department of Seine-Saint-Denis and the cities to make an appointment.

The Departmental Council of Seine-Saint-Denis has also set up a vaccination awareness bus. Since March 1st, vaccinations are also carried out on board this bus, but only for people over 75 years old in independent residences and CCAS, by appointment.

Références :

Public and private initiatives to support appointment setting

In February, many vaccination centers across the country, faced with the congestion of the online registration system, began reserving part of the available appointments for people who could not get an appointment online. Some centers have thus enacted a "three-part rule" for the expected new doses: one part reserved for the public who make an appointment online, another for people identified by social services and CCAS, and finally a third for people proposed by attending physicians.

Many communities have begun to establish waiting lists to remind eligible individuals of new openings at the vaccination centers, depending on the availability of doses.

Personal services companies, such as APEF, offer their clients the possibility of making appointments in their place. The company Bluelina (which works with 1,000 Ehpad and 30,000 elderly people at home) has received from the platform Doctolib, the status of regulator in order to make appointments directly in place of people.

From March 15, pharmacies will be able to deliver vaccines. To this end, the people concerned will be able to go directly to the pharmacy, call it, or go through a new platform, Ordoclic, which includes making an appointment, administrative management and personalized post-vaccination follow-up.

Référence :

Digital Health Council initiatives around the digital divide

 

On the occasion of the round table organized on February 17 by the Social Affairs Commission, Giovanna Marsico, delegate for the Public Health Information Service, presented the work of the Digital Health Council on the digital divide.

As part of an ongoing task force, the Digital Health Council has begun work on three actions:

  • diagnosis of the digital capabilities of individuals
  • the development of adapted training to increase the skills of the people concerned, but also of the professionals
  • the creation of a mapping tool to diagnose the coverage on the territory, superimposed on the care offer.
"The latter is a dynamic tool that makes it possible, on the one hand, to identify the rate of digital coverage based on data from the Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques, des postes et de la distribution de la presse, and, on the other hand, to cross-reference them with the indicator of localized potential accessibility to determine for each department the level of digital coverage and access to care. Thus, the communes are given a score between 1 and 10, 1 for the most deprived and 10 for the best endowed. This allows ARS and local authorities to identify problematic situations and to work towards implementing appropriate actions.

Référence :

Sources

Initiatives to promote access to vaccination for people who are far from the digital world

  • The vaccination registration system has highlighted digital inequalities in the development of digital health tools. On February 17, a roundtable discussion organized by the National Assembly's Social Affairs Committee on "digital health at a time of health crisis" gave deputies the opportunity to question the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM) and the Ministerial Delegation for Digital Health (DNS) on the digital divide highlighted by the Covid-19 crisis.
Appointments for vaccination are made through the sante.fr website, which is supported by three platforms: Doctolib, Maiia and Keldoc. These platforms allow eligible people (according to age or medical criteria) to register in a center, even far from their place of residence.

While the main difficulty in obtaining an appointment results from the shortage of vaccines (which translates into a lack of available slots on the platforms), another difficulty results from the priority given to people aged 75 and over, who are often far away from digital technology: they often have to be assisted by relatives or caregivers to book a slot on these platforms.

The Covid-19 Monitoring and Liaison Committee (CCL-COVID, responsible for involving civil society and Parliament in operations to combat the spread of the epidemic) had recommended, in its opinion of July 19, 2021, the establishment of "a support system ... for people who are unable to obtain an appointment for vaccination. When a waiting system with a later reminder has been set up, it is imperative that it be effectively operational. Inequalities in access are exacerbated by the digital "divide. The appointment system must, for all territories, include a solution for people without telephone and internet access.

In addition to the online appointment booking platforms, the government has set up a national toll-free number: open every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., it redirects people to the switchboard of the nearest center or allows them to obtain assistance in making an appointment.

The case of Seine Saint Denis

" Not all of our residents have had access to vaccinations as they should have," explains Pierre Laporte, vice president of the departmental council in charge of health. " The digital divide affects a large number of people in Seine-Saint-Denis. We can't ask everyone to go on Doctolib to register for vaccinations. We need to set up structures capable of reaching out to people.

Several reports(Libération, Le Parisien, France Télévision, France Inter, L'express) reported that in January, vaccination centers in Seine Saint Denis were seeing "an influx of patients from neighboring departments, who are more connected and more aware of the possibilities of booking vaccination slots online. As a result, the inhabitants of the department are often in the minority among the beneficiaries of the Covid-19 vaccine".

According to the doctor in charge of a vaccination center in Pantin: " We opened our availability on the Doctolib platform on January 15. That evening, all the slots were full until the end of February. When we saw the first patients from the highest socio-professional categories, we realized how much the digital divide and social inequalities had still struck.

Since February 15, the CPAM has opened a vaccination center in Bobigny specifically dedicated to populations far from the healthcare system. The target groups are contacted directly by the CPAM, the Department of Seine-Saint-Denis and the cities to make an appointment.

The Departmental Council of Seine-Saint-Denis has also set up a vaccination awareness bus. Since March 1st, vaccinations are also carried out on board this bus, but only for people over 75 years old in independent residences and CCAS, by appointment.

Références :

Public and private initiatives to support appointment setting

In February, many vaccination centers across the country, faced with the congestion of the online registration system, began reserving part of the available appointments for people who could not get an appointment online. Some centers have thus enacted a "three-part rule" for the expected new doses: one part reserved for the public who make an appointment online, another for people identified by social services and CCAS, and finally a third for people proposed by attending physicians.

Many communities have begun to establish waiting lists to remind eligible individuals of new openings at the vaccination centers, depending on the availability of doses.

Personal services companies, such as APEF, offer their clients the possibility of making appointments in their place. The company Bluelina (which works with 1,000 Ehpad and 30,000 elderly people at home) has received from the platform Doctolib, the status of regulator in order to make appointments directly in place of people.

From March 15, pharmacies will be able to deliver vaccines. To this end, the people concerned will be able to go directly to the pharmacy, call it, or go through a new platform, Ordoclic, which includes making an appointment, administrative management and personalized post-vaccination follow-up.

Référence :

Digital Health Council initiatives around the digital divide

 

On the occasion of the round table organized on February 17 by the Social Affairs Commission, Giovanna Marsico, delegate for the Public Health Information Service, presented the work of the Digital Health Council on the digital divide.

As part of an ongoing task force, the Digital Health Council has begun work on three actions:

  • diagnosis of the digital capabilities of individuals
  • the development of adapted training to increase the skills of the people concerned, but also of the professionals
  • the creation of a mapping tool to diagnose the coverage on the territory, superimposed on the care offer.
"The latter is a dynamic tool that makes it possible, on the one hand, to identify the rate of digital coverage based on data from the Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques, des postes et de la distribution de la presse, and, on the other hand, to cross-reference them with the indicator of localized potential accessibility to determine for each department the level of digital coverage and access to care. Thus, the communes are given a score between 1 and 10, 1 for the most deprived and 10 for the best endowed. This allows ARS and local authorities to identify problematic situations and to work towards implementing appropriate actions.

Référence :

Sources

Labo Société Numérique

Labo République Française Agence nationale de cohésion des territoires
Initiatives to promote access to vaccination for people who are far from the digital world