The practitioner, the patient, and the artifacts. Genesis of the worlds of telemedicine
Alexandre Mathieu-Fritz Paris, Presses des Mines, 2021, 324 p. (Social Sciences Collection)
Remote healthcare is the promise of telemedicine, which suddenly became a reality for many healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Until then, its implementation had seemed difficult, even hampered by unambitious health policies: it was not until September 2018 that teleconsultations became reimbursable by the French national health insurance system. But the slow development of telemedicine can also be explained by the accompanying upheavals in professional practices and the organization of healthcare. For many practitioners, telemedicine still enjoys an unclear status and raises new questions and practical problems that need to be clarified. This book offers a unique sociological analysis of the development of telemedicine since the 2010s, adopting the point of view of the healthcare professionals who are experimenting with it. Alexandre Mathieu-Fritz draws in particular on two areas of research: a telemedicine system linking a geriatric hospital to a university hospital, and an outpatient teleconsultation system for mental health. He lifts the veil on the conduct of remote consultations, during which practitioners are deprived of crucial clinical elements usually based on touch, close-up vision, and keen hearing, and are thus confronted with profound changes in the therapeutic relationship, but also in the dynamics of cooperation between professionals.