Reducing Cancer Care Emissions: The Impact of Telehealth

After analyzing data from a regional cancer center, it was found that decentralizing clinical portions of cancer care on a national scale in the US could result in 33% less greenhouse gas emissions than traditional in-person care.The researchers have estimated that using telehealth and local care for cancer treatment could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 33.1% compared to traditional, in-person care. This is mainly due to the reduced need for travel to medical appointments. The results were shared at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and published in the journal JAMA Oncology. This study suggests that the approach to care adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic could have significant environmental advantages.

“Healthcare in the United States provides health benefits to many people, but it also has a significant impact on the environment.Dr. Andrew Hantel, along with Dr. Gregory Abel and Dr. Jonathan Slutzman, conducted a study on the impact of cancer care on greenhouse gas emissions and public health. They found that a decentralized approach to cancer care, including telehealth, can potentially reduce emissions. The study utilized data from the pandemic, when care transitioned from in-person to telemedicine.The researchers examined the carbon dioxide emissions per visit-day at Dana-Farber during two separate time periods: March-December 2020, when telemedicine was the primary mode of care, and March 2015-February 2020, when in-person visits were the norm. (A visit-day is defined as the total visits a person makes to a healthcare facility in one day.) They started by identifying all the elements of a clinical visit, including both in-person and telehealth visits. For in-person visits, this encompasses everything from the moment a patient departs for an appointment until their return – such as travel to the facility, in-facility energy use, and so on.Arriving at the hospital, parking the car, taking the elevator to the clinic, using hand sanitizer, using the bathroom, and driving back home were all taken into account. The use of electricity for lights and computers, as well as the paper used to cover the exam room table, was also factored in. Using various databases, the researchers then calculated the carbon dioxide emissions associated with each of these activities. For products like hand sanitizers, data on the emissions used in making and disposing of their parts were taken into consideration. As for telehealth visits, the main aspects to track were computer and internet usage by the patient and clinician./p>

Researchers discovered that during the telemedicine period at Dana-Farber, the emissions of carbon dioxide per visit-day were 36.4 kilograms lower compared to the in-person period, which represents an 81.3% decrease. They then used this data to estimate what the emissions levels would have been during the pre-pandemic period if telemedicine had been utilized, and they extrapolated this to the entire U.S. population. The results showed that CO₂ emissions would have been reduced by 75.3 million kilograms, marking a 33.1% decline. It’s important to note that the national level decline was more modest than at Dana-Farber, due to differences in the population and the types of patients treated at Dana-Farber, such as the higher proportion of patients.Patients with rare cancers often have to travel long distances to receive care, which can result in higher levels of emissions. This can lead to a decline in CO2 emissions at a national level, which corresponds to a modest reduction in human health harms. According to Hantel, telemedicine and decentralized oncology care can have both positive and negative effects. They can increase the reach of expert care while reducing travel, time, and cost for patients, but they also have the potential to add risks to the population.Instead of substituting in-person appointments, which may pose challenges for elderly individuals and those with limited internet access, and in some instances may limit clinicians’ ability to accurately diagnose and treat. Our discoveries contribute another aspect to this discussion, demonstrating that reducing emissions is an added advantage of this care approach.”