Doctolib: 6 questions to understand the controversy

Doctolib is in turmoil. For several days, the platform, which references doctors, midwives, dentists or nurses, has been at the heart of a controversy because it also includes naturopaths with questionable practices.

The start-up defends itself by insisting that these practices are legal. They are not regulated. The controversy brings to the fore the question of the place of unregulated “alternative medicine”. Explanations.

1. What is the origin of the controversy?

A tweet set fire to the powder on August 19. A health professional criticized Doctolib for allowing its users to make appointments with naturopaths, a discipline with no medical basis.

From then on, the controversy grew on social networks. Many users have claimed, with supporting screenshots, that they have identified care and well-being services on the platform for managing and scheduling medical appointments. Magnetizers, iridologists, sophrologists, personal development coaches, homeopathic doctors but also mediums who communicate with the deceased are among the results highlighted by Internet users.

These practices are legal but have no medical basis. Moreover, they are not regulated and some of their representatives engage in dangerous practices, close to charlatanism and sectarian aberrations.

On August 22, a new tweet revives the controversy. This time, it’s a video in which intervenes Irène Grosjean, a naturopath with a sulphurous reputation, who has added fuel to the fire. The specialist promotes sexual touching to treat young children.

2. Who is Irene Grosjean?

Irène Grosjean, 92, is one of the French figures in naturopathy. She stands up against the use of drugs and advocates “alternative” and “natural” methods, particularly through food. The latter promotes raw food, a diet that consists of eating exclusively raw fruits and vegetables. This method is criticized by many specialists.

Irène Grosjean is also close to the ideology of Thierry Casasnovas. This French entrepreneur and videographer is accused of being a guru. During the summer of 2020, the prosecution opened a judicial investigation against him for “illegal exercise of the profession of doctor”, “abuse of weakness” and “misleading practices”. It has also been monitored, since 2012, by the Interministerial Mission for Vigilance and the Fight against Sectarian Aberrations (Miviludes).

If Irène Grosjean no longer receives consultations, she organizes practical courses to become a naturopath yourself. On Doctolib, several professional accounts displayed a link with Irène Grosjean or Thierry Casasnovas.

3. What was Doctolib’s response?

The French specialist in managing and scheduling medical appointments reacted in a gradual way. On August 21, before the publication of Irène Grosjean’s video, the group thus recalled, in a Twitter thread, that “3% of our users carry out an activity in the field of well-being or medico-social”.

“Their activity is legal but they are of course not health professionals”, continued Doctolib. The unicorn further explained that it was impossible to make an appointment on the platform with a practitioner not referenced by the Ministry of Health “without having expressly sought to do so”.

The CEO of Doctolib, Stanislas Niox-Chateau, also defended himself in the columns of the “Parisian” . “The demand is there. It is not up to us to say whether these activities are effective or useful. They are legal, so we have no reason to prevent practitioners from being registered on our site,” he said.

After the publication of the video in which Irène Grosjean recommends sexual touching of minors, Doctolib has once again reacted. “We immediately suspended appointments for 17 profiles” in order to carry out checks, the platform said on Tuesday August 23 on Twitter.

Doctolib assured, in a press release, to have “already a substantive work to continue to improve” its services. A consultation was also launched “with the Orders, the Unions of health professionals, the authorities, Miviludes and civil society”.

“Doctolib will not rule out any options,” the statement continued. “We also call on the public authorities to regulate these practices in order to best protect users”, concluded the group.

4. How has the controversy evolved?

On Tuesday August 23, the Order of Physicians came to fuel the controversy. In a press release, the Order asked the group “to strengthen its ethical rules to register on its platform”, fearing “the confusion” between health professionals and disciplines without medical basis.

This call was quickly supported by the confederation of French medical unions (CSMF), which represents liberal doctors. The CSMF asked “the State to clarify the practices of certain professionals” of alternative medicine.

5. What measures have been taken by Doctolib?

New two-step response from Doctolib. In a press release, released on Wednesday, the platform indicates that it has taken a “first series of measures” (…) “aimed at strengthening its procedures for verifying and reporting professionals referenced on its site”. Thursday, she added that no appointments can “now be made before the verification of the right to practice of a health professional is effective”.

Doctolib also intends to clarify “the content of the sheets of unregulated practitioners by explicitly mentioning that they are not health professionals”.

6. Is this the end of the soap opera?

This Friday, a new episode came to fuel the controversy. The Montpellier prosecutor’s office, confirming information from France Inter, revealed that it had opened an investigation in July for “illegal practice of medicine” against two people who posed as child psychiatrists on the platform.

A mother of two children had filed a complaint in early July, after having consulted, through Doctolib, a fake child psychiatrist and her replacement in order to obtain a prescription for medication for her two children suffering from attention disorder (ADHD ). The two fake child psychiatrists would have provided consultations, before the platform stopped their subscription and deleted their profile in early July.

“We were indeed victims of fraud, while the right to practice the false practitioner was being verified by our teams”, explains Doctolib on Twitter. “Until now, a period of 15 days was granted to health professionals”, details the group. This deadline has been suspended since Thursday.

Doctolib should also communicate new measures once the consultation with the Orders, the Unions of health professionals, the authorities, Miviludes and civil society has been completed.