2023-07-21 10:07:05
Paris, Friday July 21, 2023 — François Braun, former Minister of Health and Prevention, announced the establishment of “prevention meetings” at several key ages in life.
If you are between 40 and 50 years old, you will soon be eligible for the new “prevention” appointments offered by Health Insurance and provided for by the Social Security Financing Act (LFSS) 2023.
« We are starting “prevention” appointments on October 1, primarily with the 45/50 age group, who are the most affected, and to whom we will go as a priority to offer complete health courses.“, detailed the former Minister of Health in the National Assembly.
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Two other age groups are provided for by the LFSS 2023: around 25 years old and around 60 years old. But the prevention appointments will not begin, for them, until 2024.
Three ages for different preventions
The government’s idea is as follows. At 25, it’s
entry into working life“, and it will therefore be a question of taking stock of vaccines, physical activity, possible addictions or difficulties linked to the start of professional life.
At 45,the pivotal age“, people will be able to take stock of their physical activity ( once more) and any mental health problems. Screenings will also be offered, for example, for cardiovascular diseases and several cancers (breast, colorectal, prostate).
Finally, at 65, the age ofretirement», it will be a question of preventing the loss of autonomy and detecting, here once more, possible cancers.
Other more general parameters will be studied during these meetings, such as sexual health and diet. The people targeted by these campaigns will be contacted directly by Health Insurance and will have to fill out a questionnaire before the appointment, which can also take place with a doctor, a midwife or a pharmacist.
If the new measure seems harmless at first glance, even interesting for prevention, it is a “false good idea” for François Bourdillon, former director general of Public Health France, as he explained, some time ago, in a column published inL’Express.
A lack of scientific data
« This idea is old», points out François Bourdillon. The National Aging Well Plan 2007-2009 already proposed a preventive check-up for people of retirement age, and the idea resurfaced in 2019 in the report on old age consultation.
But the former director of Public Health France points out that public health specialists emphasize “a lack of scientific data to support such proposals“, especially since these preventive measures are “very centered[s] on the care“, while the evolution of behavior and “healthy environmentsshould instead focus on health education and promotion strategies.
The French are already able to carry out health checks in health insurance health examination centers, as well as cancer screenings.
Rather than preventive appointments at three stages of life, the idea would therefore rather be regular follow-up with prevention carried out by the attending physician, throughout life. “General practitioners are supposed to provide preventive care (screening, health education, etc.) and contribute to the promotion of health. They are essential links“, emphasizes François Bourdillon.
The question obviously arises concerning people who do not consult, a “very difficult problem to solve“, recognizes the former director general of Public Health France. But the free consultation launched by François Braun is more like “The tree that hides the forest“, he believes. “The priority in prevention is not to identify problems once they have arisen, but to ensure that the physical, societal, cultural, economic and regulatory environment prevents them from occurring. ».
Relevant lines of thought that might well interest the brand new Minister of Health, Aurélien Rousseau.
Raphael Lichten
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