Can telemedicine be effective in responding to local health needs? Insights from the experience of Piedmont Region in Italy

Introduction Telemedicine (TM) concerns the provision of healthcare, through ICT, regardless of where people involved (professionals and patients) are located. For an ageing population, as in Piedmont, these services can have a fundamental role to respond to health needs of the elderly in which, chronic diseases are more prevalent and whose access to healthcare is more difficult. TM and information technologies are fundamental to ove...