It is a major change that the French are about to experience. The Cnil, the commission guaranteeing freedoms in the face of digital technology, approved on Wednesday February 22 the future Vitale card on smartphones, on the condition in particular that the user can request support from his health insurance fund to install the application.
The commission has made public the opinion given to the government for the deployment of this future dematerialized version of the green smart card, which must be offered to all people insured by December 31, 2025. This application will be optional and users will still be able to use the smart card or the care sheet to obtain their reimbursements.
According to the recommendations of the CNIL, the user must have “the right to request support from his health insurance organization for the installation of the application”.
“There is a balance to be found between the offer of an innovative digital service, making it possible to simplify the daily life of users, and the need not to accentuate the digital divide”, she underlines. The Cnil also validates the use of facial recognition for the first installation of the “Carte Vitale” application by the Internet user.
But this use of facial recognition must end as soon as possible, as soon as the France Identity application – which proves the identity of the person – is ready. This application is linked to the new electronic identity card (CNIe), currently being deployed. The “Vitale e-card”, currently being tested in ten departments, could replace the Vitale card in the practitioner’s office.
It will allow the Internet patient to “consult his rights, download the documents necessary for his care and follow his reimbursements”, recalls the Cnil. It may also, where appropriate, serve as a means of identification to access digital health services, for example those of a complementary mutual.