[Telemedicine for the elderly- opportunities are increasing, critical factors have to be tackled!].

An autonomous life and quality .of life are essential objectives for the use of telemedicine among the elderly population. To make aging in place possible the elderly peoples' homes have to be embedded in an integrated health and aged care system.

[Telemedicine and the ageing population].

Telemedicine aims to create new forms of health care delivery by the use of information and communication technologies (ICT),for example, to improve the access to health care for patients in rural regions. There is a need for assistive technologies and innovative technological solutions due to the demographic change. Population trends of western societies show concurrently an ageing population and the wish of elderly people to live at home as long as possible while there is a tendency that older people live in greater distances to their kin nowadays.

[Acceptance and feasibility of medical telemonitoring plus individual teleconsultation -A two years research and development project at the University Hospital Zurich].

The research and development project "Long Independent Living Assistant (LILA)'; which is financially supported by the Commission for Technology and lnnoyation (KTI}, is based on the results and experiences of many years of the Medical Online Consultation Service at the University Hospital Zurich.The focus is on development and provision of a comprehensive, telemedicine service. Citizens and patients should be provided more safety at home and the family doctor should be supported by the service.