Mollie Cummins, Sukrut Shishupal, Bob Wong, Neng Wan, Jace D Johnny, Amy Mhatre-Owens, Ramkiran Gouripeddi, Julia Ivanova, Triton Ong, Hiral Soni, Janelle Barrera, Hattie Wilczewski, Brandon M Welch, Brian E Bunnell
BACKGROUND: Digital health and telemedicine are potentially important strategies to decrease healthcare's environmental impact and contribution to climate change by reducing transportation-related air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. However, we currently lack robust national estimates of emissions savings attributable to telemedicine. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to (1) determine the travel distance between participants in U.S. telemedicine sessions, and (2) estimate the net reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions attributable to telemedicine in the United States, based on national, observational data describing the geographical characteristics of telemedicine session participants...
January 26, 2024: Journal of Medical Internet Research