About us

FRANCE ASSO SANTÉ: THE VOICE OF HEALTH SYSTEM USERS

France Assos Santé is the name chosen by the National Union of Registered Associations of Health System Users (Union nationale des associations agréées d’usagers du système de santé) to publicise its activities as the organisation of reference representing and defending the interests of patients and health system users. With a mission officially recognised by its inclusion in the public health code via the law of 26 January 2016, France Assos Santé was created in March 2017 building on more than 20 years of advocacy aimed at establishing and gaining recognition for robust interassociative user representation. Our main purpose is to give a clear and powerful voice to users’ views about the health issues that concern them, incorporating the different points of view, with the aim of always promoting common interests.

A union of close to 80 associations

France Assos Santé brings together almost 80 national associations that campaign for patient and user rights, comprising several million members in all. Whether well known to the general public or less well known, all associations are emblematic in their field of activity and benefit from accreditation officially recognising their capacity to represent health system users.

From rare diseases, or work-related and environment-related diseases, through a multitude of chronic conditions and the challenge of frail, vulnerable or elderly populations, retirees and people with disabilities, France Assos Santé works on all matters likely to impact citizens’ daily lives in connection with their health and their relationship to our health system. This also includes questions posed by routine care and prevention, the quality of practices and the defence of medical accident victims.

An interassociative approach for more than 20 years

The interassociative approach that characterises France Assos Santé is a continuation of the dynamic gradually introduced by associations in the field of health since 1996, and which have contributed to the emergence of what is known as health democracy. This dynamic has notably been characterised by the constitution of the Collectif Interassociatif Sur la Santé, active for more than 20 years, and which coalesced into France Assos Santé at its creation.

A presence throughout France for practical and coordinated actions

Our union is a national association which is also represented in the French regions via regional unions of approved health system user associations, regional delegations of France Assos Santé.

In order to represent and defend the common interests of all health system users, we lead activities at national or regional level in 4 priority areas:

• Training user representatives who sit on hospital bodies or public health and health insurance bodies, to help them play an active role and make sure their participation is acknowledged as useful and relevant.
• Monitoring the proper functioning and fairness of the health system, analysing problematic issues, defining common strategies to achieve improvements in the welcoming and care of people.
• Informing health system users of their rights in their relations with healthcare institutions and health professionals as well as social protection organisations, and of any legal or social issues related to their state of health.
• Disseminating our findings and claims as the main interface representing health system users.

Information line (Santé Info Droits)

The legal and social security experts answering our information line provide free information and guidance on any question related to health issues. These include patient rights, access to healthcare, patient care, social security in case of inability to work or disability, payment protection insurance, and questions related to disability or dependence.

www.66millionsdimpatients.org : Health Information Website

Prevention, patient care, environmental risk factors, the cost of care, and the quality of practices: through dossiers, surveys or the words of experts, www.66millionsdimpatients.org tackles current health issues from the different angles impacting the daily lives of our fellow citizens. The site is intended as the spokesperson for "impatient" patients and an information tool to enable them to better find their way through the health bureaucracy, helping them defend their rights and assert themselves as participants in their own healthcare.