The oil and gas industry today employs thousands of people representing a vital component of the worldwide economy. Worker safety and health are very important to this industry. Healthcare in this sector is usually provided through a combination of emergency response services by means of helicopters and/or dedicated rescue or supply vessels that can take a patient in need of treatment to a shore-based hospital or clinical facility. Although crew safety remains paramount, oil and gas companies are looking at ways to improve the overall quality of crew care, while decreasing the number of unnecessary medical evacuations. Telemedicine, linking offshore platforms with medical centres ashore, exploiting satellite telecommunication systems, provides the ideal opportunity for the European offshore industry as a whole to make substantial cost savings through reduced evacuations and more frequent monitoring and treatment of workers on board the platform improving the quality of healthcare on board. Implementing telemedicine systems also enables them to reassure workers and unions of their commitment to the worker’s health and safety. The main objective of the OPTESS service is in fact to supply integrated solutions for medical consultations on board off-shore platforms, also considering legal and social aspects involved. The telemedicine service under validation is designed for oil and gas companies owning production facilities and for all companies owning drilling rigs and employing people in offshore sites. Offshore platforms (including drilling rigs) are in fact the primary target for the services to be deployed, nevertheless all the other remote sites where these oil and gas companies employ workers (such as oil tankers and terrestrial oil fields) will be considered. The project initially focuses on the European market (mainly as far as the North Sea is concerned, but also the Adriatic and Mediterranean Sea), with a possible extension of the business to other regions (especially the ones where European companies have their sites, e.g. West Africa). The off-shore sites where the service is available have been equipped with appropriate medical facilities (i.e. ECG, RX, ultrasound devices) and communication systems (VSat). Links by means of satellite channels will be established with medical centres in Europe.