title: [A dedicated ambulatory system for the primary healthcare of the deaf people].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A law of 11 February 2005 recognises French Sign Language (LSF) as a language in its own right and requires the implementation of practices that facilitate access to health care of deaf patients.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study describes an ambulatory system devoted to primary care for the deaf people.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case study: quantitative and prospective analysis of consultation data between 2009/01/01 and 2012/12/01, qualitative analysis of the ambulatory system, of an appointments selection and of some community-based health practices.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From an active list of 116 patients, 885 consultations were held. The number of annual consultations doubled between 2009 and 2012; the average number of consultations per patient amounts to 3,5/year. The system, stemming from private practice, consists of a general practitioner trained in LSF progressively helped by his partners from the group practice. It compensates for the lack of hospital units in the area. The clinical situations described help in the understanding of the project's significance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The benefits of the system are obvious but should not become a reason to ignore the necessity of the creation of a hospital unit that provides health care for the deaf people, including the possibility of a mobile unit taking into account multiple disabilities and isolated people.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Amoros
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bonnefond
authors.forename: Cécile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: Rodolphe
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Charles
mesh_terms: D003638:Deafness; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012813:Sign Language