Patient transport greenhouse gas emissions from outpatient care at an integrated health care system in the Northwestern United States, 2015–2020

Telehealth in PM&R: Past, present, and future in clinical practice and opportunities for translational research

“…180 Studies on the environmental impact of telehealth include both prospective and retrospective studies and all demonstrated consistent findings of reduced CO 2 emissions across geography and patient populations served. [181][182][183][184][185][186][187][188][189][190] One study evaluated the environmental impact of telehealth in an urban academic rehabilitation setting in patients using telehealth, including one-third of telehealth patients who were non-ambulatory, and estimated avoiding an average travel distance of 95 miles, resulting in decreased CO 2 and other organic gas outputs. 191 Multiple reports emphasized the savings to patients of time and financial costs of travel and hotel.…”

How Should We Respond to Health Care Generating Environmental Harm?

“…Barriers to telehealth (eg, lack of internet access or digital literacy, regulatory and reimbursement requirements) can prevent realization of benefits (eg, reduced exposure, utilization of PPE and other resources, and emissions reduction). 34,35 • Explore opportunities to further expand and improve telehealth services as part of an overall strategy to reduce health care's transportation footprint.…”

Climate Change and Physiatry

“…Patients with limited mobility face significant challenges in transporting to appointments, which can be easily addressed through telehealth visits, which dramatically reduce transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions 50,51 . A recent retrospective study of an integrated healthcare system in the US found that telehealth visits were the primary contributor to a greater than 50% reduction in per-appointment carbon intensity during the year 2020 50 . Even before the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of telehealth, there was interest among PM&R providers in using telehealth as a way to increase access to physiatric healthcare services, with 76.8% of SCI providers in a 2019 survey expressing interest in further education on telehealth 21 …”

“…50,51 A recent retrospective study of an integrated healthcare system in the US found that telehealth visits were the primary contributor to a greater than 50% reduction in per-appointment carbon intensity during the year 2020. 50 Even before the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of telehealth, there was interest among PM&R providers in using telehealth as a way to increase access to physiatric healthcare services, with 76.8% of SCI providers in a 2019 survey expressing interest in further education on telehealth. 21 From telehealth to waste reduction to disaster preparedness, robust climate policies will prove essential to protecting the health of people with disabilities.…”

“…Telehealth has played an important role in increasing specialty healthcare access and reducing the environmental footprint of transportation to clinic visits. Patients with limited mobility face significant challenges in transporting to appointments, which can be easily addressed through telehealth visits, which dramatically reduce transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions 50,51 . A recent retrospective study of an integrated healthcare system in the US found that telehealth visits were the primary contributor to a greater than 50% reduction in per-appointment carbon intensity during the year 2020 50 .…”