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Legal framework: article 6, section 3 of directive No. 2011/24          

Contesting a healthcare professional's refusal to provide care

Health care professionals have the right to refuse to provide care, but a strict set of rules applies. If you believe that you have been illegally denied care, you can submit a formal complaint, either:

• To the director of the local health insurance fund (Caisse Primaire d'Assurance Maladie/ CPAM – list of France's CPAMs )
• Or to the director of the health care professional's local professional associations (physicians' association, nurses' association, or dental surgeons' association),

by registered letter with return receipt. This letter must include:

• The name and contact information for the person who has been denied care;
• Identifying information for the health care professional accused of illegally denying care;
• A description of the events leading up to the complaint.

Once a complaint has been received, mediation proceedings will be held before the mediation board (Commission de conciliation). The board's administrative office will summon the parties at least 2 weeks prior to the date of the hearing. The victim may be assisted or represented by the person of their choice, which includes an accredited patients' association. Both the victim and the health care professional can submit a written statement to the mediation board if they are unable to attend the hearing.

Upon conclusion of the hearing, either:

• The board will register a successful mediation and terminate the complaint;
• Or, if mediation fails, the complaint will be sent before the professional association's disciplinary board.

You can also file a direct complaint with France's citizens' rights commissioner (Défenseur des droits) either by filling out an online form or by mailing a letter to: Défenseur des droits, Libre réponse 71120, 75342 Paris Cedex 07. Make sure to attach a copy of any documentation that is illustrative of your situation (official reports, copies of police complaints, medical certificates, etc.), as well as your complete contact information.

If you suffer harm from treatment received in France

1. Healthcare facility mediation

You can submit a request for mediation to the facility, either by contacting the director of the hospital directly, or by going through the medical or non-medical mediator, or the User Relations and Quality of Care Board (Commission des relations avec les usagers et de la qualité de la prise en charge/ CRUQPC), by way of a letter spelling out your complaints with regard to your care.

You may be offered a direct transaction with the healthcare facility's insurer. In addition, under certain circumstances, you can apply to the Medical accident arbitration and compensation board (Commission de conciliation et d'indemnisation des accidents médicaux/ CCI). When certain seriousness requirements are met, the CCI conducts an adversarial inquiry at no charge to the applicant in order to determine the cause-and-effect relationship between the medical procedures provided and the harm suffered by the patient. The CCI issues an opinion either denying your application or requiring that compensation be paid either by the healthcare professional's insurer, or by the French National Medical Accident Compensation Office (Office national d'indemnisation des accidents médicaux/ ONIAM) if a no-fault medical accident is at issue.

• https://www.oniam.fr/indemnisation-accidents-medicaux/partenaires
• https://www.oniam.fr/trouver-ma-commission

2. Complaints submitted to professional boards

Professional boards bring together all of the members of a single profession and provide a type of regulation over that profession. You can submit your complaint to the professional boards which are in charge of examining health care professionals' ethics-related disciplinary liability, whether they are based at a public facility or a private practice

Board	Website	Information on procedures followed
Physicians	www.conseil-national.medecin.fr	FAQ
Dental surgeons	ordre-chirurgiens-dentistes.fr	Settling disputes
Pharmacists	www.ordre.pharmacien.fr	Disciplinary committees
Massage and Physical Therapists	www.ordremk.fr	Oversight committee
Nurses	www.ordre-infirmiers.fr	How to submit a complaint to the Board
Midwives	ordre-sages-femmes.fr	Disciplinary courts
Chiropodists-podiatrists	www.onpp.fr	Board oversight committees

3. Bringing legal action

If you suffer harm from cross-border healthcare provided in France, you are entitled to damages under common law. Indeed, health professionals and healthcare facilities alike are liable for any harm resulting from proven medical malpractice.

• If the harm was caused by a procedure performed at a public healthcare facility, the patient must apply for damages before an administrative court.
• If the harm was caused by a procedure performed at a private health facility or at a private medical practice, the action must be brought before an ordinary court of law.

The French Justice Ministry's website lists contact information to help you find the appropriate administrative (public-sector health care provider) or civil court (private-sector provider) by entering the name of the town in which the provider is located.

Please be aware that you can bring both types of proceedings at the same time.