Health sector can’t ignore telemedicine’s green gains, study shows Premium

Teleophthalmology offers efficient eye care through teleconsultations, reducing carbon emissions and saving patients time and expenses.

A study by researchers at the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), Hyderabad, has found that around 70-80% of people who visit an eye hospital can benefit from teleconsultations because their problems aren’t serious enough to require attention at a hospital. The study was published in the journal Eye.

Telemedicine has emerged as a viable alternative to in-person consultations with doctors in many contexts because it saves patients time and expenses, which can be considerable if they are located in remote areas and/or are not well to do. But as more people pick this option, another advantage is coming to the fore: lower emissions.

Studies in high-income countries have shown that telemedicine is both a patient- and an environment-friendly means of healthcare service delivery. In India, where 70% of the population lives in villages, a hospital visit often requires expensive long-distance travel to urban centres, which imposes its own considerable carbon footprint.

Vehicular emissions are a major contributor to local pollution and global warming. In India, about 88% of the carbon dioxide emissions come from road traffic. Across cities alone, over a three-month period, the study found that teleconsultation led to 1,666 fewer kilometres of travel for patients and an average reduction of 176.6 kg of carbon dioxide emissions – figures the healthcare sector can’t afford to ignore.

According to one analysis, India’s healthcare sector emitted 74 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2014, around 3% of India’s total emissions of the gas that year. It is likely to have increased since: as the demand for health services increases, so too will the paradoxical harm to health due to their emissions.

“Every healthcare system should work towards carbon neutrality,” Padmaja Kumari Rani, the lead author of the study and network head of teleophthalmology at LVPEI, said. “Teleophthalmology is an efficient and effective tool that can help the eye health sector to achieve that goal.”

(Note: The author is affiliated with LVPEI.)