Health 2028

Electronic claim forms in New Caledonia: ready by 1 January 2028

On 1 January 2028, electronic claim forms become the norm. Software, connection, organisation, data: what a practice, pharmacy or laboratory needs to prepare in 2027.

By Benjamin Forte · 19 October 2026 · 6-minute read

Electronic claim forms in New Caledonia, the feuilles de soins électroniques, are no longer a pilot. In May 2026 the Congress, New Caledonia’s legislative assembly, voted to make them general, with a deadline of 1 January 2028. For a private practice, a pharmacy or a laboratory, that leaves a little over fourteen months to equip and organise.

This is about more than IT. It affects patient reception, payment follow-up, continuity when systems fail and the protection of health data. Here is what has been decided, who is affected and a timeline for getting ready.

Electronic claim forms in New Caledonia: what was voted

Two texts frame the reform. Loi du pays no. 2026-5 of 5 May 2026, a statute passed by New Caledonia’s Congress, sets out various health and social provisions; among other things, it creates a shared medical and pharmaceutical record. On 26 May 2026 the Congress then adopted délibération no. 555 to implement it, unanimously according to La Dépêche.

According to press reports, this délibération makes the electronic claim form the norm:

all health professionals are expected to join in 2027;
the final deadline is 1 January 2028;
paper is kept as a fallback when digital transmission is impossible or, according to Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes, at the patient’s request.

The volumes explain the move away from paper: about 350,000 claim forms are produced every month, of which about 80,000 are already electronic. Around 30% of doctors, pharmacists and laboratories are taking part in the pilot, and the expected saving is estimated at 80 million XPF a year.

We were unable to consult the text of the délibération online, so check the precise arrangements with CAFAT, New Caledonia’s social security fund, or with your professional body.

Who is affected

The reform covers “all health stakeholders”: the professionals who issue claim forms and the bodies that receive them, including CAFAT, the mutual insurers and the South Province’s medical aid scheme.

The mutual insurers’ electronic channel has been running since 2024. The South Province’s medical aid scheme has just connected to it: it processed more than 215,000 claim forms in 2025, almost nine in ten of them on paper, and a dozen private doctors are testing teletransmission. The province plans to extend the system to medical equipment suppliers, physiotherapists, laboratories, pharmacists, nurses and dentists.

If you work alone or in a small practice, you are affected just as much as a larger organisation. The difference lies in resources: no IT department, and little time to deal with it.

What to prepare: software, workstation, connection, paper fallback

Practice software: ask your vendor in writing whether it handles teletransmission to CAFAT, the mutual insurers and medical aid, from when and at what cost. In the mutual insurers’ channel, access at the end of 2024 required a dedicated account opened with the practitioner’s RPPS number (the health professional register number) and CAFAT number.
The workstation: an up-to-date computer with a named account for each user. A shared computer without a password has no place at reception.
The connection: a main line and a backup, such as 4G tethering. In August 2024, the cyberattack on the internet provider Lagoon cut off about 40% of its subscribers for around 48 hours.
The fallback procedure: one page stating when to switch to paper, who decides, how to flag the forms concerned and how to regularise them afterwards.

Organising the practice: who does what

Teletransmission shifts the workload: less paper to send, more checks on screen. Allocate roles before you switch over.

At reception: check the patient’s identity and entitlements before the consultation. CAFAT’s professional portal lets you manage patients’ administrative entitlements and delegate the use of its online services to people you choose.
The practitioner: validate and send the form at the end of the consultation, rather than leaving it for the evening.
A named lead: review rejections and third-party payments (tiers payant) every week, and follow up with the bodies concerned.
The whole team: know the fallback procedure and who to call if something fails.

Plan half a day of training before go-live, then a review after one month: the first rejections show which data-entry errors to fix. For IT in a medical practice, whether in Nouméa or in the Brousse, the rural interior, the rule is the same: written roles are worth more than one more tool.

Securing health data

Sending forms online means moving sensitive data around. Loi du pays no. 2026-5 now makes the hosting of health data subject to government approval, valid for three years. Among other conditions, the host must meet a technical standard, be certified and insured, have its head office in New Caledonia and keep the data in the territory or in a state offering equivalent protection.

If you entrust your data to a software vendor or a host, the law requires you to check that it holds this approval. Ask three questions: where are my data hosted, has the approval been granted or applied for, and how do I get my data back if I change software?

In the practice, four simple measures cover the essentials:

a strong password and two-factor authentication for every account;
an automatic backup, with a test restore every quarter;
workstations that lock themselves and encrypted laptops;
access removed on the very day a colleague leaves.

BFO Partners has worked on hosting health information systems since 2011. Our conclusion: simple measures applied every day protect better than an expensive tool used badly. Our health sector page sets out our approach.

Timeline for 2026-2027

Here is a realistic timeline for a practice of 1 to 15 people:

November-December 2026: take stock (software, workstations, connection, backups) and question your vendor in writing.
January-March 2027: choose or update the software, open the accounts you need, order the equipment and the backup connection.
April-June 2027: test teletransmission with a few patients and with each body, and write the fallback procedure.
July-September 2027: roll out to all patients, train the whole team and review rejections weekly.
October-December 2027: check payments, fix the remaining gaps and confirm your host’s approval.

Do not wait for the last quarter of 2027: vendors and service providers are likely to be in demand from every practice at once. As for funding, do not count on the South Province’s business aid code (CASE): human health activities are among the sectors it excludes (article 1111-3), apart from specific schemes. To place this project among your other tools, see our digital page.

Key point

From 1 January 2028, the electronic claim form becomes the norm: software, a backup connection, roles in the practice and an approved host all need preparing in 2027.

Frequently asked questions

Are electronic claim forms mandatory in New Caledonia?

Yes, from 1 January 2028, under the délibération adopted by the Congress on 26 May 2026. Paper remains possible as a fallback when digital transmission is impossible.

Which professionals are affected by the 2028 deadline?

Health professionals who issue claim forms. Doctors, pharmacists and laboratories are already taking part in the pilot; the South Province plans to bring in physiotherapists, nurses, dentists and medical equipment suppliers.

Do I need to change software?

Not necessarily. Ask your vendor whether it handles teletransmission to CAFAT, the mutual insurers and medical aid, and where it hosts your data. Consider a change if the answers are vague or slow to come.

Sources

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