The digitisation is part of a wider plan to improve France's struggling healthcare system as hospital emergency wards struggle to cope with demand and parts of the country suffers from a shortage of doctors.
One of the main changes set to affect people in France is the digitisation of the carte vitale health card.
In theory it will mean that in the future there will no need to have a physical card and instead everything will be online, with a carte vitale app set to be tested this summer.
The aim is to roll it out in 2021, with the health ministry saying the digital version of the essential green card is "destined to become their [patients] tool for identification and authentication in the health system."
This measure is one of 26 steps laid out by Health Minister Agnès Buzyn's in her plan to "accelerate the digital shift" in the sector, some of which have already been publicised, such as bringing in shared medical records and increasing telemedicine (consultations over the phone and online).
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Photo: AFP
The minister also wants to shift to digital prescriptions, starting with the prescription drugs.
These will be tested at some point during 2019, with plans to roll them out from 2020.
Other types of prescriptions, such as for blood tests and physiotherapy will follow.
The "e-prescription" should "promote coordination between professionals," said the ministry.
In order to ensure all of the newly digitised information is secure, a national cyber surveillance will be created to protect it.
The government has also created a ministerial delegation called the DNS which will report directly to the Minister of Health Agnes Buzyn and oversee the digital transformation of French healthcare.
Read more about France's plan to transform its ailing healthcare system here.
French words to know
Digital - numérique
Prescription - une ordonnance
Healthcare system - le système de santé
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