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Health systems in transition <strong>France</strong> 187<br />

programmes: first, one focusing on patients with diabetes and, since late 2014,<br />

one focusing on patients with asthma. Moreover, indicators of good follow-up<br />

of chronic diseases have been introduced in ROSP (see section 3.7.2).<br />

The HAS has also developed guidance for pathways for patients with<br />

the following chronic conditions: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,<br />

Parkinson’s disease, chronic kidney disease, congestive heart failure,<br />

bronchopulmonary cancer and malignant pleural mesothelioma, Hodgkin’s<br />

lymphoma (adult), type 2 diabetes (adult) and atrial fibrillation. These guides<br />

aim to help physicians better deal with acute episodes and to retard the<br />

progression of the disease to the extent possible by improving care practice<br />

and coordination as well as by fostering patient involvement and participation<br />

in care, particularly through therapeutic patient education. Moreover, tools for<br />

patients and health professionals are provided.<br />

However, one of the limitations of such programmes is that while doctors<br />

have a high level of awareness of practice guidelines published by HAS, the<br />

recommendations may not be assimilated because they are too long and<br />

sometimes confusing. For example, a 2013 report of the National Academy of<br />

Medicine (Académie nationale de médecine) identified a number of areas of<br />

overprovision of care, including excessive biological testing and high-technology<br />

imaging and overprescription of drugs (Mornex, 2013). For cancer screening,<br />

a large number of mammographies are undertaken over age 75, despite the<br />

recommended age cut-off, resulting in overdiagnosis of small lesions of limited<br />

medical interest that do not change the life expectancy of the patient and may<br />

expose her to needless anxiety, additional testing and even surgery.<br />

Moreover, the management of acute episodes and disease-related<br />

complications is a key element in ensuring high quality care for patients with<br />

chronic conditions and avoiding unnecessary hospitalizations. For avoidable<br />

hospital admissions for adults with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary<br />

disease, <strong>France</strong> has much lower rates than the OECD26 averages (OECD, 2013).<br />

Nonetheless, regional variations in the rate of hospitalizations for exacerbations<br />

of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ranging from 0.1 to 2.0 per 1000 in<br />

2010, have led the Ministry in charge of Health and the largest SHI fund to<br />

request a study by the HAS regarding the appropriateness of hospitalizations<br />

during such acute episodes (HAS, 2012). Better data are needed for certain<br />

conditions. For example, avoidable hospital admission rates are not available<br />

for diabetes because it is not necessarily included as secondary diagnosis in the<br />

PMSI database, which also does not include the patient’s ALD status.

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