气候变化领域集成服务门户(CCPortal): Evaluating the Impact of Telehealth on Carbon Footprint During Three Phases of the Pandemic at a Rural Academic Medical Center

CCPortal

DOI	10.1089/tmj.2023.0429
	Evaluating the Impact of Telehealth on Carbon Footprint During Three Phases of the Pandemic at a Rural Academic Medical Center
	Madison, Maia; McLellan, Robert; Darling, Katelyn; Curtis, Kevin M.
发表日期	2024
ISSN	1530-5627
EISSN	1556-3669
英文摘要	Background: Climate change is primarily driven by greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2). Telehealth visits have been found to mitigate carbon emissions by reducing patient and physician transport. Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) is the most rural academic medical center in the country, serving a population where the majority of patients reach the hospital by car. No large study or systematic review has evaluated the impact of telehealth visits on CO2 emissions (CO(2)e) across multiple specialties in a purely rural setting. Further, no sizable rurally focused study has compared CO(2)e avoided during the various stages of the pandemic. Methods: We extracted data for all outpatient telehealth visits at DHMC from three periods: prepandemic, early pandemic, and late pandemic. The extracted data included the pandemic stage of the virtual visit, the type of visit (video or telephone), the specialty, and the distance from the patient's home to DHMC. Results: The total CO(2)e avoided among all three pandemic stages analyzed in this study was 23,658,898 kg (n = 251,832). During period 1, the mean driving distance = 159.0 miles; CO(2)e avoided per encounter = 128.3 kg; period 2, mean distance = 84.85 miles; average CO(2)e avoided per encounter = 68.47 CO(2)e kg; and period 3, mean distance = 112.9 miles; average CO(2)e avoided per encounter = 91.08 kg. Conclusions: This data supported long distances to the medical center and large savings in CO(2)e avoided across multiple specialties that spanned all pandemic periods. Further, this level of averted emissions could translate to over $3M in saved fuel costs and the avoidance of six excess deaths. While discussions of the future of telehealth commonly focus on access, use cases, technology, costs, and satisfaction, the impact on carbon footprint is an additional important metric, particularly in largely rural regions.
英文关键词	greenhouse gases; climate change; telehealth; rural
语种	英语
WOS研究方向	Health Care Sciences & Services
WOS类目	Health Care Sciences & Services
WOS记录号	WOS:001152598000001
来源期刊	TELEMEDICINE AND E-HEALTH
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/291019
作者单位	Dartmouth College; Dartmouth College
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Madison, Maia,McLellan, Robert,Darling, Katelyn,et al. Evaluating the Impact of Telehealth on Carbon Footprint During Three Phases of the Pandemic at a Rural Academic Medical Center[J],2024.
APA	Madison, Maia,McLellan, Robert,Darling, Katelyn,&Curtis, Kevin M..(2024).Evaluating the Impact of Telehealth on Carbon Footprint During Three Phases of the Pandemic at a Rural Academic Medical Center.TELEMEDICINE AND E-HEALTH.
MLA	Madison, Maia,et al."Evaluating the Impact of Telehealth on Carbon Footprint During Three Phases of the Pandemic at a Rural Academic Medical Center".TELEMEDICINE AND E-HEALTH (2024).