Video Phone 2.0

Bonjour world! Marie here in Paris. Remember "Video Phone", the song that was basically Beyonce's inventory of all the things you can do with a smartphone? A decade later, it feels like my doctor is about to start singing it. Medical practitioners are increasingly booking appointments through smartphone apps, and a change in French regulation in September opened up video-conferencing as a way to consult and get a prescription without leaving your couch.

All you need to do is download an app, sign up, and pick a doctor and preferred time for a chat. As long as you've had a "real" face-to-face with the same practitioner in the 12 months prior, France's state-backed health system will treat the video-conference consultation as a standard one, and cover expenses the way it usually does. The doctor can send a prescription over the app. The same thing is spreading in the U.K.