Between 2004 and early 2014, France invested nearly 500 million euros in a digital health initiative known as the Personal Medical Record (DMP). The goal was to create a universal digital file for every citizen, centralizing medical data such as test results, prescriptions, and hospital records in one accessible location for healthcare professionals. However, by early 2014, only 418,011 files had been created, far below the initial target of five million. An internal report from the National Council for Quality and Coordination of Care, obtained by Le Parisien, highlighted the project’s shortcomings, suggesting it had become a symbol of administrative mismanagement over the decade. The DMP was launched in 2004 by then-Minister of Health Philippe Douste-Blazy as part of broader health system reforms. Despite significant investment, primarily by the French health insurance system, the project failed to gain traction among healthcare professionals. By early 2014, the number of created files—around 400,000—was ten times lower than the original goal. The report revealed that many of these files were either empty or contained minimal information, indicating a lack of adoption and use by doctors and other medical staff. The gap between the project’s ambitious vision and its practical implementation was stark, with a clear disconnect between the public’s support and the tool’s actual usage. The challenges were not only in numbers but also in the lack of integration into daily medical practice. A parliamentary inquiry noted that nearly half of the DMPs were either empty or contained only one document. The then-Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Marisol Touraine, acknowledged the project's struggles and called for a new, second-generation version of the DMP in 2013. However, without a clear strategy, the government extended the existing contract by a year and added 7 million euros to the budget for 2014. The Court of Audit had already raised concerns in 2013, estimating the project’s cost at over 210 million euros between 2005 and 2011, with total costs possibly reaching 500 million euros. The audit criticized the project for its lack of strategic planning and inconsistent implementation. In 2015, the management of the DMP was transferred to the National Health Insurance Fund, and the name was changed to "shared medical record." Despite public support—83% of French citizens favored the concept in a 2013 survey—the project continued to struggle with technical and organizational barriers. Doctors failed to adopt the system, and the lack of integration into daily practice undermined its potential. The DMP’s story reflects a broader issue in public digital policy: a widely supported idea, poorly managed on the ground, and a growing financial burden without meaningful results.