Most recent cable television network infrastructures can be used to deliver
broadband interactive telemedicine services to the home. These facilities
allow the provision of social and health services like medical televisiting
for elderly, disabled and chronically ill patients; health tele-education;
and teleconsultation on demand. Large numbers of patients could benefit fr
om these services. There is also the increasing European tendency to offer
customized home-care services. These applications are being developed and v
alidated by a pilot project in Madrid as part of the ATTRACT project of the
European Commission. The long-term aim is to develop broadband application
s on a large scale to support low-cost interactive home telemedicine servic
es for both patients and institutions.