liberal Nursesโ Feel “invisible” as National Campaign Downplays Their Role in Flu Vaccinations
PARIS – A national health insurance campaignโ urging citizens to “Talk to your doctor” about flu vaccinations isโ sparking frustration among liberal nurses across France, who say the messaging overlooks their critical roleโค in providing accessibleโค healthcare, especially for at-home vaccinations. โขThe campaign, spearheaded by the โฃCnam (National Health Insurance โขFund),โ has been met with criticism for seemingly โdiminishing theโข contributions of nurses who are increasingly on the front lines of preventative care.
Olivier Deneuve, โdepartmental president of the national Federation of Nurses (FNI), expressed disbeliefโ upon seeing the campaign poster intended forโ display in medical โขoffices. “This โis the one that we must put up in our offices when we certainly know that doctors no longer haveโข time to vaccinate. It is the nurses who are on theโข frontโ line,” he stated. The concern stems from a growing trend where patients,โ unableโค to store โvaccines themselves, โคopt for immediate vaccination at pharmacies after receiving a prescription from their nurse, rather than scheduling a follow-up appointment.
Thisโค situation creates a financial hardshipโ for nurses, who are responsible for the initial prescription but receiveโ no compensation when patients โคchoose pharmacy-administered vaccinations. “It is not them that I blame but the system,” Deneuve explained. “When patients have to go toโค their homes to buy their vaccine,they often have the injection done in the pharmacy,which is understandable.But, in these cases, even if we are the prescribers, we made theโข prescription, we areโ not paid.”
The Cnam poster,โ Deneuve added, feels like “the โคstraw that broke the camel’s back.” Liberalโข nurses are uniquely positioned to provide vaccinations in patients’ homes – a service doctorsโข are often unable to offer – and the campaign’s focus on physicians undermines their specialized skill set. The FNI โarguesโฃ that the current interaction strategy fails to โrecognize the vital role nursesโ play in increasingโฃ vaccination rates and protecting public โhealth, particularly โas winter approaches and theโ risk of influenza rises.
