Minor Medical Emergencies during Lockdown
Broken your glasses?
Suffering tooth ache?
Sprained your wrist?
All of these events are frustrating at best, downright painful at worst… but classed as minor medical emergencies during the coronavirus outbreak.
The attestation de déplacement authorises patients suffering from chronic illnesses and requiring treatment to leave their homes for medical reasons (option 3 on the form) but what about minor medical issues?
Below is a summary of current advice.
Opt for a remote consultation when possible
Call your GP or medical centre to request a video consultation. You can also book appointments with many doctors online via doctolib.fr. This will reduce the risk of infection for patients and staff alike.
If the doctor is unable to advise/treat you remotely, he or she will ask you to go to the medical centre, which is then accepted under option 3 of the form.
Obviously in the case of major medical emergencies (broken bones etc.) you should go straight to A & E, where emergency measures are in place to minimise contact with other patients.
Video consultations are paid for in the same way as a traditional consultation, with the usual contributions by sécurité sociale and mutuelle insurance. It costs the same as a regular consultation in a doctor’s surgery, 25€.
The only constraint: card payment is obligatory and made directly online via the platforms.
On-call opticians
Faced with a the prospect of ongoing lockdown, on the 25th of March opticians introduced a new system known as de garde. This was already in place for out of hours pharmacists but is now possible for “on-call opticians” too.
Find out which is your closest opticien de garde on the specially created website.
Remember, even though these opticians are remaining open at certain times during the week, they will only accept you if you have made an appointment. They will only accept appointments that they deem to be necessary.
Dental problems
Emergency dental care is still available.
Whenever possible, avoid going to A & E or directly to your dentist. Above all, do not overload the emergency services by calling 15. If you have tooth ache, call your usual practitioner.
If necessary, you will be redirected to the regulation centre (available directly by calling 09 705 00 205 if you can’t reach your dentist) which will then direct you to an on-call dentist.
Prescriptions
Until 31st May, you can have your medication dispensed without a prescription renewal. This measure includes the contraceptive pill for women. Nevertheless, the old prescription must be presented.
Pharmacists have been told to provide the patient with a sufficient number of boxes to allow the continuation of treatment until the end of May. Treatment will be reimbursed under the usual conditions.
