Abstract
Context : SAMU correspondent doctors (MCS), ambulatory general practitioners under agreement with SAMU, represent a link in the response to Emergency Medical Assistance (AMU) within an acceptable time of less than 30 minutes thanks to an existing territorial network close to isolated populations.Objectives : We evaluated the response to AMU by GPs trained in MCS in the organization of care in the territory provided for under the health territory pact.Method : An exploratory descriptive study was conducted using a database from the document "Diagnosis of access to urgent care" of 31 December 2019 produced by the Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (DREES) and the General Directorate of Healthcare Provision (DGOS).Result : The MCS was the nearest emergency medical service for 3,058,872 French people (4.58% of the French population). 45.9% of them lived less than 30 minutes away from an emergency service or SAMU. The MCS was the closest device for 14.0% of French municipalities whose combined surface area corresponded to 20.1% of the French territory, with a mountainous and rural profile. They are installed in 46 departments and operate in 67. More than 1.3 million French people live more than 30 minutes away from any AMU facility.Conclusion : The dual training of GPs and MCSs seems essential to promote access to urgent care within an acceptable time of 30 minutes for the population, but also to promote the installation of doctors in areas where the reference AMU system is the MCS. An MCS level of competence could be created for "junior doctors" in the 4th year of the DES in general medicine. This training could be integrated into the university branches in territories with difficult access to emergency care.