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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. More complex diseases and multimorbidity urge improved interconnectedness between different health care professionals. Hence, different health systems pursue e-health strategies with the aim to implement electronic patient records (EPR) and similar technological solutions as a first approach to tackle those challenges. Telemedicine represents an open and evolving concept which is subject to a regular process of further development as a consequence of accelerated technological progress. The increased articulated demand for patient centered health care is one driver for the use of telemedicine. In the context of the trend of shorter hospital stays technological solutions can provide an opportunity for better support and care at home to reduce health risks and improve caregiving quality after hospital discharges. Despite the still prevalent reservations of elderly people about the use of ICT research shows that acceptance and the willingness to use technical devices is increasing. The article describes different aspects of telemedicine in the context of the aging population: definitions, an overview of trends and various fields of use with specific practical examples. A synoptic view of research results of evaluations of telemedicine applications regarding their effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis complement the paper.

Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) summarizes various connected digital networked assisting technologies with the aim to support elderly and chronically ill people and to improve their quality of life. This paper defines the term AAL and shows different fields of application for AAL technologies. It illustrates the role of AAL against the background of the societal and demographic changes, of the expected growth of older people in need of care, and of the ongoing trend of singularisation of elderly. We describe medical application areas with new opportunities for the use of AAL technologies. The article highlights further the importance of the technical acceptance of these technologies by the end users, which we deem to be the most critical factor for the diffusion and use of AAL technologies in the forthcoming years.