He treated rocket-borne wounded in Afghanistan.

Today, he sees teenagers addicted to their video game consoles. And he himself still plays.

Didier Mennecier has a unique background: a military doctor for over twenty years, with missions in Afghanistan and East Timor, former director of information systems for the French Armed Forces Health Service, and now an addiction specialist focusing on excessive use of video games and screens.

In this episode, he explains how to distinguish, in clinical practice, excessive use from a true behavioral addiction, what is really going on behind a patient who can't tear themselves away from their screen, and why the family context often carries more weight in the diagnosis than the screen itself. He also discusses his experience in war medicine, managing a major cyberattack in a military hospital, and his consultation method.

You will discover, in particular:

How to differentiate between excessive use and genuine behavioral addiction
The consultation method used with adolescents and their parents
The role of parental technoference, a topic still poorly documented in practice
Clinical guidelines on screen exposure according to age
Managing a major cyberattack (WannaCry) in a military hospital environment
An atypical career change in healthcare, from war medicine to addiction medicine

Learn more about the guest:
LinkedIn: LinkedIn: didiermennecier

Previous episodes mentioned:
#40: He provided care during the Ebola outbreak… then led a mission at the Ministry - Alexis Bataille Hembert: Il a soigné sous Ebola… puis piloté une mi...

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This episode is supported by Hublo, the healthcare HR platform: https://hublo.short.gy/ltdlr

00:00 Introduction
01:06 Who is Didier Mennecier?
05:17 The military medical entrance exam
09:29 First mission in East Timor
12:41 Providing care in a war zone
15:25 Preparing for the unthinkable
17:55 The night of the rockets in Afghanistan
20:41 Living with the aftereffects
21:50 The geek behind the doctor
25:42 Becoming the CIO of the French Armed Forces Health Service
27:57 The dream of a single patient record
28:55 Cyberattacks and military hospitals
33:12 Recruiting after Covid
36:08 The shift towards addiction medicine
38:54 Opening a video game and screen time consultation service
41:01 Discussing video games with teenagers
44:34 His method in Consultation
50:03 When gaming takes over
55:00 Social media: the real risk according to him
1:04:16 Screens in schools: what if we went back to paper?
1:05:00 Talking to children about artificial intelligence
1:08:19 How he himself avoids addiction
1:11:50 His projects for Med5Geek
1:13:32 Where to follow his work
1:17:02 What age for the first screen?
1:20:35 The ritual question: who to invite next?

#Addiction #HealthcareSystem #DigitalPrevention