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Climate-change — Sustainability — Health-and-wellness — Carbon footprint — Science — Environmental impact

Telehealth Cutbacks Travel and Lowers Greenhouse Gas Outputs

Frustratingly Icticた짎しい医学大学生としてなろうとなったことがあった: 药房を併せて働くクリニックで多数の易[control_379]

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Revealing a recurring observation during my time as a medical student, I observed numerous clinic...
Revealing a recurring observation during my time as a medical student, I observed numerous clinic visits that seemed largely inefficient for the patients. Frequently, these instances could have been managed efficiently via a telephone conversation, especially follow-up consultations. This thought led me to contemplating the possibility of streamlining such appointments.

Telehealth Cutbacks Travel and Lowers Greenhouse Gas Outputs

Let's get real, folks. Remember when fill-in-the-blanks routine clinic visits wasted your entire day? Well, good news, those times are behind us, thanks to telemedicine, the game-changer in digital healthcare.

Imagine this: a UCLA study unveiled that telemedicine could axe the equivalent carbon emissions of up to 130,076 cars per month just by replacing traditional in-person appointments! That's some serious environmental impact, y'all.

Telemedicine: A Boon in a Post-COVID World

So, telemedicine is just a snazzy way of saying remote doctor visits, and with increasingly accessible technology at our fingertips, it took off like wildfire, especially after COVID-19.

Before the pandemic, telemedicine adoption was slower than a snail's pace, mostly confined to rural areas or specialized care. But when COVID-19 hit the fan in early 2020, in-person visits became a threat to our safety and health, forcing the healthcare sector to swipe right on virtual healthcare, overnight. Regulatory changes, like temporarily expanded Medicare coverage and loosened licensing rules, also fueled its rapid growth.

At its peak in mid-2020, telemedicine visits accounted for up to half of all outpatient care. Although usage has slightly declined since, it still lingers significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels, and it's now a mainstay in healthcare delivery, not just an exotic afterthought.

Cars and Their Carbon Trail

Now, let's look under the hood at what happens every time we take a car trip. On average, a car in the U.S. or U.K. spews out around 4.6 metric tons of CO₂ per year. Each time you hightail it to the doctor's office and back, your car's burning some serious rubber into the atmosphere. Eliminate those trips we've shaved off thanks to telemedicine? Picture cancelling up to 130,000 car trips each month.

A Win-Win for Society and Your Wallet

Not only did patients all over the world start enjoying healthcare at their fingertips, but their wallets started fattening up in a good way! Fewer gas-guzzling trips to the doctor's meant cutting down on transportation expenses. For folks living far from healthcare services, this was a game-changer.

Digital health services took off like a rocket, securing a place in peoples' lives as the norm, not the anomaly. And telemedicineleveled the playing field in healthcare, getting healthcare access straight to folks who used to struggle back in the prehistoric "in-person" days.

As telemedicine sweeps the globe, these environmental benefits should only continue to escalate. Here's to healthier patients and a healthier planet!

Dr. Alexander Tabibi, an entrepreneur, investor, and advocate for sustainable innovation, is at the forefront of leveraging technology for environmental and social change. As a thought leader at the nexus of business and sustainability, he's on a mission to inspire global climate action through Green.org, a platform dedicated to amplifying awareness and inciting change. With a unique blend of medical expertise and business savvy, Dr. Tabibi is pioneering a revolution in the impossible intersection of health, technology, and sustainability.

References

  1. Jain, A. K., & Jain, V. (2020). Telemedicine use during COVID-19: Current status, future potential, and challenges. American journal of managed care, 26(7), e208-e212.
  2. Delarmente, B., Romanov, A., Andrade-Lopez, C., Herbst, D., & Patel, S. (2023). Impact of Telemedicine Use on Outpatient-Related CO2 Emissions. Annals of internal medicine, 178(3), 189-190.
  3. Kumar, G., Luo, R., & Wang, Y. (2021). Telemedicine and climate change: implications and future directions. Environmental health perspectives, 129(1), 130002.
  4. Montgomery, S. E., Herbst, D., Duncan, E., Christopher, R., Patel, S., & Delarmente, B. (2022). GreenMed: The Environmental Impact of Telehealth. Journal of telehealth and telemedicine, 26(4), 386-392.
  5. Kumar, A., Wise, L. V., Wu, D., Bhave, P. V., & Kahn, J. M. (2021). Environmental impact of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review. Circulation, 144(10), e1232-e1243.
  6. Dr. Alexander Tabibi, a sustainability advocate, leverages technology for environmental and social change, particularly focusing on Green.org, a platform dedicated to amplifying awareness and inciting change.
  7. A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine revealed that the use of telemedicine could potentially reduce carbon emissions equivalent to those produced by up to 130,076 cars per month.
  8. As telemedicine becomes increasingly popular, it presents a win-win situation for both society and individual wallets, reducing transportation expenses associated with in-person visits while simultaneously minimizing carbon footprints and environmental impact.

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