Telemedicine helped nursing home residents avoid ER visits, research finds

McKnights Long-Term Care News: Telemedicine helped nursing home residents avoid ER visits, research finds

Findings published in the Journal of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine found that skilled nursing facilities (SNF) were able to limit emergency room visits after implementing a more robust telemedicine program. The study was part of an effort to determine if telemedicine services could provide early detection and management of treatment problems in residents and prevent emergency transfers. Findings showed that SNF were able to identify changes in resident conditions with telemedicine among 42 percent of the patients requiring further evaluation, and of those patients, nearly 70 percent were able to remain at the SNF for treatment while the other 30 percent had to be transferred to the emergency room.