Feedback on ophthalmologic telemedicine in a nursing home

The need for ophthalmologist appointments is increasing, while the number of practitioners is decreasing. Elderly patients, who may be dependent and isolated, are the most affected by this barrier to care. In order to get around this obstacle, telemedicine visits might be an alternative. From June 2018 to November 2018, patients in the housing facility for dependent elderly individuals (EHPAD) at the Janzé (Ille-et-Vilaine) Medical Centre participated in an ophthalmology telemedicine visit during their stay. The telemedicine visit included measurement of visual acuity, intraocular pressure, wide field fundus photography, and optical coherence tomography (OCT) performed by a technician, and a videoconference with an ophthalmologist. Sixty-seven patients aged 83±8 years (60% women and 40% men) underwent a telemedicine visit. The visit was completed in 36 (54%) cases. The fundus photography was not performed in 30 (45%) cases, and the OCT was not performed in 35 (53%) cases. We diagnosed an ophthalmologic disease in 37 (55%) patients, with medical management having begun in 14 (38%) of them. A prescription for corrective lenses was given in 30 patients (45%). Following our visit, mean logMar visual acuity experienced a statistically significant improvement from 0.67 (±0.76) to 0.52 (±0.72) (P