What ethical framework for remote monitoring ?

A report that sheds light on this new model of care

Now equipped with its own regulatory and financial framework, the development of remote medical monitoring also opens up new areas for ethical consideration. It cannot be reduced to the digitization of a care process. As an innovative model for organizing care, it is distinguished in particular by a series of interventions over an extended period and by the collaboration of a variety of actors around the patient.
Aware of these specificities, the Digital Health Delegation (DNS) convened the G8 working group co-led by the DGOS, which had already produced an ethical framework for assessing complex telehealth situations in 2023 {1}. The result of this new collective reflection, the report Ethical Issues in Telemonitoring, was published on July 22, 2025 {2}. The authors tread carefully: this is not a normative tool but an “evolving process of questioning intended to support practices” as part of a quality approach.
Information, consent and division of roles
Reading these 40 pages invites remote monitoring stakeholders to ask themselves relevant questions. With one constant concern: “that care remains a deeply human act, even at a distance.” The report clearly identifies the issues at stake: transparent patient information (the foundation of trust), informed, free, specific, and reversible consent (going beyond a simple “click”), identity monitoring, shared responsibilities, particularly in the management of alerts, etc.
Among the ethical issues surrounding remote monitoring that arise on a daily basis are: “How can we ensure that the patient understands? That they are ready for remote monitoring and understand its objectives and how it works? How can we coordinate the responses of the various parties involved? How can we establish an appropriate level of presence that is reassuring without being intrusive? What actions (including the management and pre-filtering of alerts) are delegated to third parties, and does the patient consent to this delegation?” These issues highlight the crucial role of therapeutic education and coordination between the various parties involved in the patient’s care.
Without claiming to resolve a constantly evolving issue, this work highlights the importance of fluid communication between caregivers, providers, and DMN designers.
The goal is to provide responses tailored to each patient’s context, thereby strengthening their adherence.
See you soon, 
The Vestalis team

References:

1. https://esante.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/media_entity/documents/minist-sante-gt8-pistea-mise-en-page_260630%5B97%5D_0.pdf

2. https://esante.gouv.fr/actualites/telesurveillance-medicale-penser-le-soin-distance-avec-ethique

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