The year 2024 has reshuffled the priorities of the healthcare sector in France. Between the persistent degradation of access to primary care, the structural shortages of medications, and a massive failure in mental health care, the ongoing transformations far exceed the scope of digitalization that most analyses highlight.
Medication Shortages: An Issue of European Industrial Policy
Supply disruptions are no longer just isolated incidents. In 2024, medication shortages have become a structural problem that now mobilizes European levels. The European Commission has initiated a reform of pharmaceutical legislation that includes diversifying suppliers, coordinating around critical medications, and establishing strategic stockpiles.
This shift marks a break from the reactive management that has prevailed until now. We observe that the response is shifting from the hospital field to that of industrial policy, with the creation of a Critical Medicines Alliance aimed at mapping dependencies and securing production chains.
For healthcare professionals, the impact is direct: substitution protocols are multiplying, pharmacists must manage daily tensions on common therapeutic classes, and prescribers are adapting their strategies based on the actual availability of molecules. Following the news from relais-sante.com allows one to stay informed about these regulatory and logistical developments that are reshaping the daily lives of caregivers.
Access to General Practitioners: A Measured Degradation by Profession
The average accessibility to general practitioners and nurses has slightly decreased again in 2024. This decline contrasts with an improvement observed for other professions: physiotherapists, midwives, and dentists have gained accessibility during the same period.
This distinction by profession is crucial. Talking about “medical deserts” without specifying the concerned specialty obscures opposing dynamics. A territory can have a satisfactory offer in dental care while being severely under-equipped in general medicine.
Consequences on the Organization of Primary Care
The scarcity of primary care is pushing patients towards hospital emergencies or self-medication, two behaviors that increase the costs of the system. Multi-professional health centers and territorial professional health communities (CPTS) are trying to compensate, but their deployment remains uneven across regions.
The transfer of competencies to advanced practice nurses (IPA) and pharmacists (vaccination, screenings) represents a concrete lever. However, we recommend not to overestimate its short-term effect: the training of IPAs takes several years and the regulatory framework evolves slowly.
Mental Health: The Gap Between Screening and Effective Care
In 2024, nearly half of those who experienced a depressive episode received no care. Anxiety disorders show a comparable rate of non-use. This figure, derived from the data of the Public Health France Barometer, illustrates a paradox rarely analyzed in sector assessments.
Screening is progressing, conversations are becoming more open, and awareness campaigns are multiplying. However, the offer of psychiatric and psychological care remains insufficient to absorb the generated demand.
A Supply Problem, Not Just Stigmatization
Waiting times for a consultation at a CMP (medico-psychological center) often exceed several months. The MonPsy system, intended to facilitate access to private psychologists, covers a limited number of sessions and does not compensate for the shortage of psychiatrists.
- Shortage of trained professionals in psychiatry, with vacant positions in the majority of public establishments
- Massive non-use related to the lack of nearby services rather than patients’ refusal of care
- Marked territorial gap between metropolitan areas (where private offers partially compensate) and rural areas
Reducing this failure in care requires rethinking the organization beyond just hospital psychiatry. Integrated care models, combining the primary care physician, psychologist, and social worker, offer documented results in several European countries.
Health Data and Interoperability: Where is the Real Deployment
The Digital Health Agency (ANS) has consolidated in 2024 the foundations laid by the Ségur du numérique. Mon espace santé, software referencing, and the CaRE program in cybersecurity have made operational progress. The challenge remains effective interoperability between hospital, private, and medico-social information systems.
The exchange of harmonized and real-time health data is a prerequisite for population prevention strategies. In practice, silos persist: patient files incompatible between establishments, heterogeneous data formats, cultural resistance to the systematic feeding of the DMP.
Data Security: A Reinforced Imperative
The CaRE program and CERT Santé have structured the response to cyberattacks targeting healthcare establishments. The incidents of 2024 confirm that hospital cybersecurity conditions the continuity of care, not just regulatory compliance.
- Gradual deployment of the national health identity reference (INS) to ensure reliable patient identification
- Extension of the SI-Samu to improve coordination of pre-hospital emergencies
- Increased importance of health data hosting certifications (HDS) as a selection criterion for providers
The digital transformation of the sector is not just about adopting tools. It involves shared data governance among authorities, establishments, and private professionals, with enforceable technical standards.
The healthcare sector in 2024 is defined less by its technological promises than by its operational constraints: pharmaceutical shortages, degraded access to primary care, underfunded mental health, unfinished interoperability. These four areas structure budgetary and organizational decisions for the coming years.
