Electronic Treatment Forms: A shorter, simpler and more secure way to obtain reimbursement of treatment costs

©Manuel Vitali Direction de la Communication 

Since 8 August, Civil servants, government officials and their dependants who are affiliated with the State Medical Benefits Office, have been able to make use of Electronic Treatment Forms (Feuille de Soins Electronique - FSE). 

This is in line with the Government's wish to develop e-administration.
The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and the State Medical Benefits Office (SPME) have therefore been working together to bring about this improvement. 

From now on, if they so wish, Civil servants and government officials will no longer have to send off their treatment forms; the FSEs will be filled in directly at the practitioner's office, using a secure electronic format.  The forms will be instantly forwarded to the SPME for processing, which, among other benefits, will make it possible to optimise reimbursement times. 

Of course, for insured persons who so desire, treatment forms in a paper format will continue to be accepted by the Department. 

At the technical level, the FSE is created on a secure web site, in accordance with a data encryption protocol that is identical to that used, for example, by banks, for the consultation of bank accounts. 

None of the information featured on the FSE is kept on the practitioner's computer, on either a temporary or permanent basis.  There is therefore no risk that the data will be used fraudulently.

In practice, all the insured person has to do is show the practitioner his or her SPME registration card (which includes the FSE code) to start the reimbursement procedure. 

On presentation of this card, the practitioner will enter the serial number and the FSE code to create the FSE in an electronic format and forward it immediately to the SPME via the Internet. 

Finally, just as for treatment forms in a paper format, insured persons can follow the progress of the reimbursement of FSE on their personal Government "tele-services" account. 

This new electronic service (which is the result of several years of collaboration with the Social Services Compensation Fund) has two main advantages: 

• From now on, persons insured under the SPME will be able to have their health costs reimbursed without having to send their treatment forms to the SPME in a paper format
• FSEs will be treated by the SPME according to the usual timescales (reimbursement within 5 to 10 days), but, for insured persons, the fact of not having to send the treatment forms to the SPME will shorten the overall reimbursement time