You can’t miss it: every time you visit the doctor, you have to give him your health card, which he inserts into a sort of reader. But what is this little box for? Explanations.
Since the transition to the electronic care form, doctors are obliged to use a vital card reader to transmit them online. This reader, whether fixed or portable, is therefore used in particular by doctors for all medical procedures for their patients.
How is this little box used?
In a video posted on his Instagram account, Dr Walid Mekeddem details the use of this reader. It shows that the healthcare professional who uses it must insert (below) their healthcare professional or CPS card.
This card is an electronic professional identity card. It is issued to any person working in a care establishment or in the health field. Whether this person is located in a private practice, in a laboratory or in a pharmacy. It is this card which allows the practitioner to be identified and allows him to access the information contained in the vital card, specifies the doctor.
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A reader to carry out different operations
What are the other uses of this vital card reader? There are several. The box thus allows:
- Simplify reimbursement operations: in fact, in just a few minutes, information is sent via remote transmission to reimbursement organizations (health insurance or mutual insurance);
- Digitize patient data and information: the care sheet is transmitted electronically to Health Insurance, which therefore limits paperwork;
- Facilitate patient care by nursing staff: live reading of the health card shows the doctor the patient’s insurance status, which facilitates their care;
- Invoice the Social Security part of the procedure or consultation in full, within the framework of a third-party payment or 100% coverage, which avoids the patient having to advance the costs.
Finally, be aware that there are also “multi-card” readers: they allow those who use them to read your vital card but also to be paid by bank card.