Adoption of Telemedicine Cuts Greenhouse Gas Emissions
THURSDAY, May 1, 2025 -- Telemedicine use modestly decreases the carbon footprint of U.S. health care delivery, according to a study published online April 22 in the American Journal of Managed Care.
Benjo Delarmente, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues used multipayer claims data to estimate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions averted from the avoidance of travel by using telemedicine as a substitute for the usual source of in-person care between April 1, 2023, and June 30, 2023.
The researchers found that during the study period, there was a monthly average of 1,481,530 telemedicine visits (65,733 rural). An estimated 740,765 to 1,348,192 of these telemedicine visits were substitutes for in-person visits. When accounting for 2021 electric vehicle (EV) production share and emissions per mile, an estimated 4,075,065 and 7,489,486 kg of CO2 were averted due to telemedicine use each month. When accounting for EV and public transportation use, 4 to 8.9 million kg of CO2 were averted per month. When extrapolating to the entire U.S. adult population, an estimated 21.4 to 47.6 million kg of CO2 in monthly emissions were averted, which is roughly equivalent to the monthly emissions of 61,255 to 130,076 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles.
"Policy makers and payers should recognize the positive environmental impact of telemedicine utilization when considering future policies that might impact access to, and reimbursement of, telemedicine," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed ties to relevant organizations.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Read this next
Lung Cancer Screening Beneficial to Age 80 for Candidates Fit for Surgery
FRIDAY, Sept. 12, 2025 -- People aged 75 to 80 years at last screen who are diagnosed with screen-detected lung cancer (LC) have lower overall survival, but those undergoing...
Sex Differences Seen in Characteristics, Course of Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder
FRIDAY, Sept. 12, 2025 -- Significant sex differences are seen in the characteristics and course of schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD), according to a study published...
Potentially Inappropriate Medications Linked to Frailty at Cancer Diagnosis
FRIDAY, Sept. 12, 2025 -- For patients with newly diagnosed cancer, an increasing number of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs), as identified by the Geriatric Oncology...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.