Implementation of Telemedicine Within Francophone Countries

Improving access to healthcare within medical deserts is a central goal to many government and healthcare leaders. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world saw an increase of technology used for daily tasks that were no longer possible due to the virus. One of these is the use of telemedicine. France and other French-speaking portions of Europe have been a leader in developing new telemedical platforms and research to aid in improving access to healthcare within medical deserts such as Sub-Saharan (francophone) Africa or French Polynesia. The following research aims at providing a specialized view of francophone countries and their relationship with telemedicine, including the background of how it began, how its use has been catalyzed during the COVID-19 pandemic, new technological innovations that have improved telemedical platforms, and its efficacy. Overall, large strides have been made to improve access to healthcare within medical deserts, but in this journey, French leaders have found that telemedicine should not only be a tool to be used in completely isolated medical deserts, but a vital tool to be used in all healthcare settings. However, while telemedicine has proven to be successful if implemented correctly, it should never completely replace face-to-face interactions with one\u27s doctor. Telemedicine is simply a tool that, when coupled with current medical practices, will further facilitate healthcare access in all areas