Phone app version of France’s carte Vitale to launch in 2023

France is set to launch a phone application version of the health insurance card, the carte Vitale, which will become available to the public in 2023.

Assurance Maladie has stated that it will be a digital alternative to the physical card, which will be continued. It states that the app will have the same level of security as the card.

The app will be called ‘apCV’ and will be free to download on android and iOS devices.

It will hold all the usual information, such as the person’s name, address and the expiry date of the card.

It will also be possible to add the person’s identité nationale de santé (INS), and, eventually, details of their top-up health insurance policies, commonly referred to as mutuelles.

The app will also allow people to consult their healthcare bills directly, with the receipts downloading immediately when the app is opened. These will remain available to download for seven days after a medical consultation, after which they will then become inaccessible. Once downloaded, they will be available indefinitely.

The app will also allow users to delegate the use of their carte Vitale to someone else they trust for a limited time. This can be useful in the case that a grandparent is taking care of a child and needs to take them to the doctors.

A trial version of the app has been used by health professionals in Rhône and Alpes-Maritimes since 2019, and in 10 other departments since 2021.

From October this year, health professionals in eight departments will get full access to the new app, before it is rolled out to the wider public starting from next year.

The eight departments are: Alpes-Maritimes, Rhône, Sarthe, Bas-Rhin, Loire-Atlantique, Puy-de-Dôme, Seine-Maritime and Saône-et-Loire.

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