TY  - JOUR
AU  - Cummins, Mollie R
AU  - Shishupal, Sukrut
AU  - Wong, Bob
AU  - Wan, Neng
AU  - Han, Jiuying
AU  - Johnny, Jace D
AU  - Mhatre-Owens, Amy
AU  - Gouripeddi, Ramkiran
AU  - Ivanova, Julia
AU  - Ong, Triton
AU  - Soni, Hiral
AU  - Barrera, Janelle
AU  - Wilczewski, Hattie
AU  - Welch, Brandon M
AU  - Bunnell, Brian E
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/5/15
TI  - Travel Distance Between Participants in US Telemedicine Sessions With Estimates of Emissions Savings: Observational Study
JO  - J Med Internet Res
SP  - e53437
VL  - 26
KW  - air pollution
KW  - environmental health
KW  - telemedicine
KW  - greenhouse gases
KW  - clinical research informatics
KW  - informatics
KW  - data science
KW  - telehealth
KW  - eHealth
KW  - travel
KW  - air quality
KW  - pollutant
KW  - pollution
KW  - polluted
KW  - environment
KW  - environmental
KW  - greenhouse gas
KW  - emissions
KW  - retrospective
KW  - observational
KW  - United States
KW  - USA
KW  - North America
KW  - North American
KW  - cost
KW  - costs
KW  - economic
KW  - economics
KW  - saving
KW  - savings
KW  - finance
KW  - financial
KW  - finances
KW  - CO2
KW  - carbon dioxide
KW  - carbon footprint
AB  - Background: Digital health and telemedicine are potentially important strategies to decrease health care’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 US 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. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study of telemedicine sessions in the United States between January 1, 2022, and February 21, 2023, on the doxy.me platform. Using Google Distance Matrix, we determined the median travel distance between participating providers and patients for a proportional sample of sessions. Further, based on the best available public data, we estimated the total annual emissions costs and savings attributable to telemedicine in the United States. Results: The median round trip travel distance between patients and providers was 49 (IQR 21-145) miles. The median CO2 emissions savings per telemedicine session was 20 (IQR 8-59) kg CO2). Accounting for the energy costs of telemedicine and US transportation patterns, among other factors, we estimate that the use of telemedicine in the United States during the years 2021-2022 resulted in approximate annual CO2 emissions savings of 1,443,800 metric tons. Conclusions: These estimates of travel distance and telemedicine-associated CO2 emissions costs and savings, based on national data, indicate that telemedicine may be an important strategy in reducing the health care sector’s carbon footprint. 
SN  - 1438-8871
UR  - https://www.jmir.org/2024/1/e53437
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/53437
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38536065
DO  - 10.2196/53437
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/53437
ER  -