Analyzing telehealth emissions and variations in primary care settings - A scoping review

Introduction

In facing the dual challenge of climate change's health impacts and healthcare's greenhouse gas emissions, telehealth emerges as a promising, low-carbon alternative. While existing literature emphasizes its implications in secondary and acute care, a significant gap exists regarding its impact on primary care emissions.

Methods

This scoping review analyzes 45 studies examining telehealth's impact on emissions, focusing on five studies in primary care settings. Using the Arksey and O'Malley Framework, it aims to understand the calculation methods and average emissions avoided per telehealth consultation in primary care, comparing them to secondary and acute settings.

Results

Results reveal that primary care telehealth emissions savings align with those in secondary and acute settings, mainly stemming from avoided transport emissions (ATE). However, variables to calculate ATE, including distance traveled, public transport, and non-emitting vehicle use, exhibit broader influences, and a model for their calculation will be developed for future studies. The findings of this review draw upon data from over 87 million primary care telehealth consultations across five studies, reporting an average avoided carbon emission of 7.7kg CO₂e per consultation. These findings underscore the potential for substantial emissions reduction by transitioning appropriate primary care consultations to virtual delivery platforms.