REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Patient therapeutic education programmes must be declared to the Regional Health Agency (ARS) responsible for the facility where the programme is to be implemented. Since January 1st, 2021, the authorisation system for TPE programmes has been replaced by a declaration system. These declarations can be submitted electronically.
The regulatory requirements remain in place, and all TPE programmes must therefore:
- Comply with the specifications for a TEP programme;
- Train professionals to acquire the skills required to deliver sessions and/or coordinate the programme;
- Comply with the requirement for annual self-assessment and four-yearly evaluation (the four-yearly evaluation report must be submitted to the relevant ARS).
The declaration of an TPE programme has no expiry date and does not guarantee funding.
Methodological documents are available on the Haute Autorité de Santé website to assist in the development and implementation of ETP programmes.
IN PRACTICE
Several steps are required before setting up an ETP programme within a department. Firstly, it is essential to determine whether the environment is conducive to the development of TPE: is TPE part of your healthcare organisation’s plans? Are there any TPE resource persons within your organisation? Do you have the means to allocate time, premises and staff to set up a TPE programme?
If the conditions are met, you will need to put together a multidisciplinary TPE team: healthcare professionals, members of patient organisations, and expert-patients. All members of the team will need to be trained in TPE.
Finally, find out whether there is an ETP programme addressing the condition and topics you wish to cover: if such a programme exists, you can contact the team that designed it and the relevant ARS to request training in running the programme so that you can implement it within your department. If no existing programme meets your objectives, you will need to design a programme and then register it with your ARS.