Telemedicine and the environment: life cycle environmental emissions from in-person and virtual clinic visits

Abstract

Concern over climate change is growing in the healthcare space, and telemedicine has been rapidly expanding since the start of the COVID19 pandemic. Understanding the various sources of environmental emissions from clinic visits—both virtual and in-person—will help create a more sustainable healthcare system. This study uses a Life Cycle Assessment with retrospective clinical data from Stanford Health Care (SHC) in 2019–2021 to determine the environmental emissions associated with in-person and virtual clinic visits. SHC saw 13% increase in clinic visits, but due to the rise in telemedicine services, the Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHGs) from these visits decreased 36% between 2019 and 2021. Telemedicine (phone and video appointments) helped SHC avoid approximately 17,000 metric tons of GHGs in 2021. Some departments, such as psychiatry and cancer achieved greater GHG reductions, as they were able to perform more virtual visits. Telemedicine is an important component for the reduction of GHGs in healthcare systems; however, telemedicine cannot replace every clinic visit and proper triaging and tracking systems should be in place to avoid duplicative care.

Telemedicine for sustainable postoperative follow-up: a prospective pilot study evaluating the hybrid life-cycle assessment approach to carbon footprint analysis

“…The hybrid accounting methodology has been proposed as the optimum strategy to achieve accuracy, precision, and cost efficiency in carbon footprint modelling ( 33 ), and has been successfully employed previously ( 10 ). Telemedicine has also been the focus of a recent retrospective life-cycle assessment; however, prospective assessment enables greater granularity of process analysis within the hybrid approach suggested here ( 34 ). While utilising this method enables flexibility in bottom-up and top-down approaches to study design, numerous sources are required to comprehensively cover the emissions factors outlined within and out of scopes 1–3 in the GHG protocol ( 15 – 24 ).…”

Exploring Quantitative Methodologies for Assessing the Environmental, Social, and Economic Impacts of Telemedicine: A Literature Review

“…Online carbon calculators were employed in three cases. Also, the standardized LCA approach was identified in three articles [44][45][46], in which the environmental impacts of travel reduction, embodied and consumed energy, waste management, and in one case internet data were quantified. Other methodologies were applied only to specific single cases.…”

“…Some nations have defined specific projects aimed at mitigating the impacts generated by healthcare systems. For instance, in June 2022, Stanford Medicine promised to reduce climatewarming emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 [45]. Similarly, the UK National Health Service has committed to becoming a net-zero emitter by 2040, with an ambitious target of an 80% reduction between 2028 and 2032 [51].…”

The potential of virtual healthcare technologies to reduce healthcare services’ carbon footprint

“…Telephone consultations however generally require a lower level of digital literacy and may represent enhanced accessibility over other methods for remote consultations ( 14 ). Overall, telehealth has been viewed satisfactorily by patients ( 16 , 17 ) with benefits including less travel, less time away from home and work, and lower costs ( 18 ).…”