Greening healthcare and slashing carbon emissions through telemedicine: a cross-sectional study from over 50 thousand remote consults at a leading tertiary hospital
IntroductionMinimizing healthcare systems’ resource footprints is crucial. To expand this focus, our objective was to assess the carbon emission reductions achievable through the introduction of telemedicine services at a prominent Brazilian tertiary hospital.MethodsThis cross-section study included...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Digital Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2025.1497770/full |
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| author | Roberto Nunes Umpierre Roberto Nunes Umpierre Roberto Nunes Umpierre Roberto Nunes Umpierre Rita Mattiello Rita Mattiello Rita Mattiello Carlos André Aita Schmitz Carlos André Aita Schmitz Carlos André Aita Schmitz Enrique Falceto de Barros Enrique Falceto de Barros Rodolfo Souza da Silva Marcelo Rodrigues Gonçalves Marcelo Rodrigues Gonçalves Marcelo Rodrigues Gonçalves Marcelo Rodrigues Gonçalves José Roberto Goldim José Roberto Goldim |
| author_facet | Roberto Nunes Umpierre Roberto Nunes Umpierre Roberto Nunes Umpierre Roberto Nunes Umpierre Rita Mattiello Rita Mattiello Rita Mattiello Carlos André Aita Schmitz Carlos André Aita Schmitz Carlos André Aita Schmitz Enrique Falceto de Barros Enrique Falceto de Barros Rodolfo Souza da Silva Marcelo Rodrigues Gonçalves Marcelo Rodrigues Gonçalves Marcelo Rodrigues Gonçalves Marcelo Rodrigues Gonçalves José Roberto Goldim José Roberto Goldim |
| author_sort | Roberto Nunes Umpierre |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionMinimizing healthcare systems’ resource footprints is crucial. To expand this focus, our objective was to assess the carbon emission reductions achievable through the introduction of telemedicine services at a prominent Brazilian tertiary hospital.MethodsThis cross-section study included all patients who had remotely held appointments in a Brazilian tertiary hospital. The primary outcome was carbon emissions. The estimated carbon emissions were first calculated based on the distance between the hospital and the patient's home address. After, the calculated distance was multiplied by the amount of carbon estimated according to the type of transport used.ResultsThe study included 28,244 patients undergoing 52,878 remote appointments between March and December 2020, residing in 417 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul and 80 towns in other Brazilian states. The total sum of distances and carbon gas reduction saved with the implementation of remote consultations amounted to 805,252.00 km and 939,641.94 kg of CO2 emissions, respectively.DiscussionTelemedicine initiatives implemented in tertiary hospitals for less than a year result in a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions saved. Telemedicine emerges as a promising strategy with significant potential to mitigate the impact on planetary health. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-19f838c6cf924236b79d2bc3f56a2053 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2673-253X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Digital Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-19f838c6cf924236b79d2bc3f56a20532025-08-20T03:12:38ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Digital Health2673-253X2025-05-01710.3389/fdgth.2025.14977701497770Greening healthcare and slashing carbon emissions through telemedicine: a cross-sectional study from over 50 thousand remote consults at a leading tertiary hospitalRoberto Nunes Umpierre0Roberto Nunes Umpierre1Roberto Nunes Umpierre2Roberto Nunes Umpierre3Rita Mattiello4Rita Mattiello5Rita Mattiello6Carlos André Aita Schmitz7Carlos André Aita Schmitz8Carlos André Aita Schmitz9Enrique Falceto de Barros10Enrique Falceto de Barros11Rodolfo Souza da Silva12Marcelo Rodrigues Gonçalves13Marcelo Rodrigues Gonçalves14Marcelo Rodrigues Gonçalves15Marcelo Rodrigues Gonçalves16José Roberto Goldim17José Roberto Goldim18TelessaúdeRS-UFRGS, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, BrazilFaculdade de Medicina, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, BrazilPrograma de Pós-graduação em Ciências Médicas da UFRGS, Porto Alegre, BrazilHospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, BrazilTelessaúdeRS-UFRGS, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, BrazilFaculdade de Medicina, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, BrazilPrograma de Pós-graduação em Epidemiologia da UFRGS, Porto Alegre, BrazilTelessaúdeRS-UFRGS, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, BrazilFaculdade de Medicina, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, BrazilHospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, BrazilUniversidade de Caxias do Sul (UCS), Caxias do Sul, BrazilWONCA Working Party on Planetary Health, Brussels, BelgiumTelessaúdeRS-UFRGS, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, BrazilTelessaúdeRS-UFRGS, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, BrazilFaculdade de Medicina, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, BrazilHospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, BrazilPrograma de Pós-graduação em Epidemiologia da UFRGS, Porto Alegre, BrazilFaculdade de Medicina, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, BrazilLaboratório de Pesquisa em Bioética e Ética na Ciência do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, BrazilIntroductionMinimizing healthcare systems’ resource footprints is crucial. To expand this focus, our objective was to assess the carbon emission reductions achievable through the introduction of telemedicine services at a prominent Brazilian tertiary hospital.MethodsThis cross-section study included all patients who had remotely held appointments in a Brazilian tertiary hospital. The primary outcome was carbon emissions. The estimated carbon emissions were first calculated based on the distance between the hospital and the patient's home address. After, the calculated distance was multiplied by the amount of carbon estimated according to the type of transport used.ResultsThe study included 28,244 patients undergoing 52,878 remote appointments between March and December 2020, residing in 417 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul and 80 towns in other Brazilian states. The total sum of distances and carbon gas reduction saved with the implementation of remote consultations amounted to 805,252.00 km and 939,641.94 kg of CO2 emissions, respectively.DiscussionTelemedicine initiatives implemented in tertiary hospitals for less than a year result in a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions saved. Telemedicine emerges as a promising strategy with significant potential to mitigate the impact on planetary health.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2025.1497770/fulltelemedicinetelehealthcarbon footprintplanetary healthtertiary hospital |
| spellingShingle | Roberto Nunes Umpierre Roberto Nunes Umpierre Roberto Nunes Umpierre Roberto Nunes Umpierre Rita Mattiello Rita Mattiello Rita Mattiello Carlos André Aita Schmitz Carlos André Aita Schmitz Carlos André Aita Schmitz Enrique Falceto de Barros Enrique Falceto de Barros Rodolfo Souza da Silva Marcelo Rodrigues Gonçalves Marcelo Rodrigues Gonçalves Marcelo Rodrigues Gonçalves Marcelo Rodrigues Gonçalves José Roberto Goldim José Roberto Goldim Greening healthcare and slashing carbon emissions through telemedicine: a cross-sectional study from over 50 thousand remote consults at a leading tertiary hospital Frontiers in Digital Health telemedicine telehealth carbon footprint planetary health tertiary hospital |
| title | Greening healthcare and slashing carbon emissions through telemedicine: a cross-sectional study from over 50 thousand remote consults at a leading tertiary hospital |
| title_full | Greening healthcare and slashing carbon emissions through telemedicine: a cross-sectional study from over 50 thousand remote consults at a leading tertiary hospital |
| title_fullStr | Greening healthcare and slashing carbon emissions through telemedicine: a cross-sectional study from over 50 thousand remote consults at a leading tertiary hospital |
| title_full_unstemmed | Greening healthcare and slashing carbon emissions through telemedicine: a cross-sectional study from over 50 thousand remote consults at a leading tertiary hospital |
| title_short | Greening healthcare and slashing carbon emissions through telemedicine: a cross-sectional study from over 50 thousand remote consults at a leading tertiary hospital |
| title_sort | greening healthcare and slashing carbon emissions through telemedicine a cross sectional study from over 50 thousand remote consults at a leading tertiary hospital |
| topic | telemedicine telehealth carbon footprint planetary health tertiary hospital |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2025.1497770/full |
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