# Telehealth for elderly care: reducing avoidable hospital transfers > 85% of avoidable ER transfers prevented in nursing homes with telehealth. How connected medical devices change the night and weekend protocol for elderly patients. [ Retour au blog ](/blog) Solutions cliniques # Telehealth for elderly care: reducing avoidable hospital transfers M MedConnect Team 6 janvier 2026 7 min de lecture When an elderly nursing home resident is transferred to the emergency room, the clinical outcome is often worse than the original complaint. Hours on a stretcher in a corridor. Exposure to hospital-acquired infections. Disorientation and agitation for patients with cognitive decline. And frequently, a diagnosis that the on-site nurse could have supported remotely if equipped with the right tools. **Telehealth for elderly care** changes this dynamic. In nursing homes equipped with MedConnect, 85% of situations that would have resulted in an ER transfer were resolved on-site — with the resident staying in their room. ## The real cost of an avoidable hospital transfer The cost of transferring a nursing home resident to the ER extends beyond the ambulance bill: - **Clinical risk**: hospital-acquired infections, falls in unfamiliar environments, medication errors during transitions of care, worsening of cognitive symptoms - **Patient distress**: elderly patients, particularly those with dementia, experience significant distress from unfamiliar surroundings, noise, and extended waiting - **Staff disruption**: the nurse who accompanies the resident is unavailable for other residents, sometimes for hours - **Financial burden**: ambulance transport, ER admission, potential hospitalization. Aggregated estimates for the full resource chain of a public health alternative exceed €3,000 per consultation Many of these transfers are clinically avoidable. A chest pain that turns out to be musculoskeletal. A moderate desaturation that responds to repositioning. A fall without neurological signs. In each case, a remote clinical assessment with real-time data can guide the decision without transport. ## The most common cases that generate unnecessary ER visits Based on operational data from MedConnect-equipped **nursing homes**: - **Chest pain**: a bedside 12-lead ECG allows the remote doctor to rule out acute coronary syndrome in real time. If the trace is normal and vitals are stable, the resident is monitored in place. - **Respiratory distress**: connected stethoscope auscultation + SpO2 monitoring. The doctor hears lung sounds live and determines whether the situation requires transfer or can be managed on-site. - **Falls**: remote-guided neurological examination (motor function, sensitivity, coordination). If no signs of severity, in-place monitoring with reconsultation instructions. - **Suspected UTI**: vital signs + urinalysis dipstick. Antibiotic prescription if indicated, without transfer. - **Skin lesions**: high-resolution dermatoscope images transmitted for assessment. Specialist dermatology opinion via tele-expertise if needed. ## How the telehealth cart changes the night and weekend protocol Night and weekend coverage is where the impact is greatest. The attending physician is not on-site. The night nurse faces clinical situations alone. Without diagnostic tools, the default decision is often transfer — as a precaution. With a [telemedicine cart](/en/telemedicine-cart), the protocol transforms: - The nurse wheels the cart to the resident's room (30 seconds) - Connects to an on-call doctor via the platform (2 minutes) - Performs the examination: ECG, auscultation, vitals — the doctor sees everything in real time on their screen - The doctor makes a clinical decision with data, not guesswork - The AI scribe generates a structured SOAP note automatically. The record syncs to the facility's electronic medical record system. This scenario has repeated hundreds of times across equipped facilities, with 85% of potential transfers resolved on-site. ## Remote specialist review without patient transfer Beyond live teleconsultation, the attending physician can request a specialist opinion without moving the resident. From the patient record, the doctor sends a request to a geriatrician, cardiologist, or dermatologist through the [tele-expertise module](/en/software/telehealth-platform). Clinical data — last ECG, vitals, dermatoscopic images — is attached automatically. The specialist receives a complete file and returns their assessment, typically within a few hours. This asynchronous model means the resident never needs to leave the facility for a routine specialist opinion. ## Async mode: nurse collects data, specialist reviews next morning Not every situation requires a live doctor connection. For non-urgent assessments, the nurse can perform a full examination using the connected devices, record all data locally, and flag the case for doctor review. The doctor reviews the complete dataset — ECG, vitals, images, nursing notes — during their next available slot. This async capability is particularly valuable for routine monitoring, medication reviews, and screening programs within the facility. In [international deployments](/en/solutions/international), this model has enabled screening of 150 patients per day in areas without reliable internet access. ## 85% transfer reduction: what this means in practice The 85% figure comes from operational data at CubeSanté and MedConnect-equipped nursing homes. It represents the proportion of clinical situations where the alternative outcome — without telehealth — would have been an ER transfer, but where on-site assessment with connected devices provided sufficient clinical data to manage the situation in place. In practical terms, this translates to: - Reduced patient distress and clinical risk - Preserved nursing staff availability (no escort duty to the ER) - Consultation cost of approximately €10, compared to thousands for an ER visit - Over 50,000 examinations completed on the MedConnect platform across all deployment types ## FAQ ### What equipment does a nursing home need for telehealth? A telemedicine cart with 21.5" screen, 12-lead ECG, connected stethoscope, dermatoscope, otoscope, vital signs monitor, and optionally an ultrasound probe. The cart rolls room to room. More than 20 CE-certified devices integrate natively with MedConnect. ### Do nursing home staff need special training? Yes — one day of training for nurses covering device operation, platform navigation, and the consultation workflow. No prior telemedicine experience is required. ### How quickly can a nursing home be equipped? 2 to 4 weeks from order to first patient. This includes platform setup, cart assembly and shipping from Ernée (France), and on-site staff training. ### Can the telehealth system integrate with existing EMR software? Yes. MedConnect integrates natively with Netsoins, the most common nursing home management system in France. Data synchronization is automatic and bidirectional — no double entry required. ## Articles connexes [ Télémédecine internationale : déployer une solution on-premise pour un ministère de la santé 8 min de lecture ](/blog-posts/telemedecine-internationale-deploiement-ministere-sante)[ Télémédecine en EHPAD : réduire les transferts évitables aux urgences 8 min de lecture ](/blog-posts/telemedecine-ehpad-reduire-transferts)[ Déployer la télémédecine dans une CPTS : guide complet 2025 11 min de lecture ](/blog-posts/deployer-telemedecine-cpts-guide) ## Découvrez nos solutions de télémédecine [ Plateforme de télémédecine Vidéoconsultation, scribe IA, dossier patient ](/logiciel/plateforme-telemedecine) [ Chariot de télémédecine Appareils de diagnostic intégrés ](/chariot-telemedecine) [ Équipements de diagnostic ECG, stéthoscope, dermatoscope connectés ](/equipement-diagnostics) ### Prêt à découvrir MedConnect ? 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