Telehealth Gave Orgs Economic Boost, Cut Carbon Footprint

A recent study from UC Davis Health found that the uptake of telehealth during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic improved patient outcomes and led to noticeable financial and environmental benefits , largely due to the cut in carbon footprint associated with virtual visits.

As telehealth became more widely used throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers focused on its effect on various aspects of healthcare.

The study from UC Davis Health aimed to gather further information regarding the carbon footprint occupied by telehealth. Researchers gathered data from five University of California healthcare systems from during the initial two years of the pandemic. They then analyzed various components related to travel distance, time, and costs.

“Our study documented the many benefits of utilizing telehealth for ambulatory visits,” said Sristi Sharma, a UC Davis preventive medicine physician and lead author of the study, in a press release. “It is the first, large-scale study to evaluate the round-trip distance, time, and cost-saving, and greenhouse gas emissions prevented from telehealth use during the pandemic.”

The reserachers concluded that telehealth led to highly noticeable savings for patients and the environment. Specifically, telehealth eliminated 53,664,391 miles in commuting distance, 204 years of travel time, $33,540,244 in travel-related costs, 42.4 injuries, and 0.7 fatalities.  

That shakes out to about 17.6 miles in travel distance, 35 minutes in travel time, and $11 in travel costs per patient.

Researchers also emphasized how telehealth is key to lessening the climate crisis that is currently a prominent issue.

In general, vehicle trips correlate with increased greenhouse gas emissions. However, during the first two years of the pandemic, researchers found that carbon dioxide emission savings were close to 21,466 metric tons. This was mainly because fewer vehicle trips took place during this time.

“The world is currently in a climate crisis. Being one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, the health care industry should be taking serious steps to decrease its carbon footprint and telehealth is one of them,” said Sharma.

Due to these findings, researchers expressed their vision of telehealth retention, regardless of the status of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Similarly, a study from July 2021 also found that telehealth was linked to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Researchers made this conclusion following a five-year analysis of outpatient visits at a Pacific Northwest health system, which provided them with data that surrounded the relationship between transportation mode and environmental outcomes.