Telehealth: Reducing Patients ’ Greenhouse Gas Emissions at One Academic Psychiatry Department

ConclusionsThis study shows that converting in person, face-to-face behavioral health visits to telehealth has the potential to increase both energy efficiency and conservation through a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions due to reduced patient travel. If these values were extrapolated to the total adult US population who have visits for behavioral health reasons, we estimate that conversion to virtual visits could save approximately 830,000 metric tons of CO2 annually. Organizational leaders should consider these societal benefits when making decisions regarding development and support of telehealth.
Source: Academic Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research