[The practice of telemedicine by French internal medicine physicians in 2019]

Telemedicine has been developing in France since 2018. The objective of this survey was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, practices and training of internal physicians regarding telemedicine.

A national descriptive observational study carried out between July and October 2019, via an online self-questionnaire with members of the National Society of Internal Medicine and the Association of Young Internists, included a descriptive and comparative analysis by subgroups of age.

Analysis of 309 responses from physicians qualified in internal medicine or practicing in an internal medicine service (61,8%) and residents in internal medicine (38%) showed that 34.6% had notions or a good knowledge of regulation of telemedicine. For 62,1%, 72.5% and 74.1% respectively, it could improve patient care, access to care and exchanges between internists and other doctors. The main obstacles to this practice were the absence of face-to-face with the patient (57.3%) and computer dysfunctions (55%). Only 23.3% practiced it, including 88.9% tele-expertise. Telemedicine was performed informally (telephone and email) in 70.8% of the cases. Doctors over the age of 50 were better acquainted with the regulations and more practiced official telemedicine. In total, 54% wanted to practice telemedicine and 72.8% wanted to train there.

Attitudes towards telemedicine were positive, but few internists knew about it and practiced it formally, warranting appropriate training.