Health Professionals and the Internet : The Problem of Online Consultation

Résumé 0

INTERNET AND MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS The problem of on-line consultation With the Internet, medical and mental health professionals are able to offer on-line consultations. The French Medical Association has reacted by banning this practice which it considers incompatible with the principles of clinical medicine. It has nevertheless left open the possibility of using the Net for certain acts apart from consultation. In the area of mental health, online consultation exists despite the fact that it has been condemned by most professionals. It is practiced either by practitioners in favour of experimentation in this field, or by commercial enterprises selling 'on-line cures'?. On-line consultation affords an opportunity for mental health professionals to debate the issues of co-presence and remuneration.