ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2019
Impact of a Telemedicine Program on the Reduction in the Emission of Atmospheric Pollutants and Journeys by Road.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Role of Virtual Consulting in Developing Environmentally Sustainable Health Care: Systematic Literature Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Pooled it
- A Review of the Applicability of Current Green Practices in Healthcare Facilities.International journal of health policy and management · 2023Pooled it
- A Transparency Checklist for Carbon Footprint Calculations Applied within a Systematic Review of Virtual Care Interventions.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Telehealth in Urology: A Systematic Review of the Literature. How Much Can Telemedicine Be Useful During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic?European urology · 2020Pooled it
- Economic and Environmental Impact of Digital Health App Video Consultations in Follow-up Care for Patients in Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery in Germany: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Trial
- Aligning With the Goals of the Planetary Health Concept Regarding Ecological Sustainability and Digital Health: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Pathways to Sustainable Health Care Development: Study on the Carbon Reduction Potential of Telemedicine in China.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Lowering the Carbon Footprint Through Telehealth Vasectomy Consults: A Retrospective Observational Study.Cureus · 2024Article
- Use of tele-nursing in primary care: A qualitative study on its negative and positive aspects.Atencion primaria · 2024Article
- Environmental Impact of a Pediatric and Young Adult Virtual Medicine Program: A Lesson from the COVID-19 Pandemic.Academic pediatrics · 2024Article
- Feasibility of a Pediatric Acute Video Consultation Process Among Health Care Professionals in Primary Care in a Rural Setting: Protocol for a Prospective Validation Study.JMIR research protocols · 2024Article
- Assessing the Carbon Footprint of Telemedicine: A Systematic Review.Health services insights · 2024Review
- Smart Endoscopy Is Greener Endoscopy: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain Technologies to Drive Sustainability in Digestive Health Care.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Impact of Cancer-Related Virtual Visits on Travel Distance, Travel Time, and Carbon Dioxide (COCurrent oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2023Article
- Telemedicine and the environment: life cycle environmental emissions from in-person and virtual clinic visits.NPJ digital medicine · 2023Article
- Behind the Scenes of a Technologically Enhanced Intervention for Caregivers of People With Dementia: Protocol for a Feasibility and Acceptability Study.JMIR research protocols · 2023Article
- Towards Green and Sustainable Healthcare: A Literature Review and Research Agenda for Green Leadership in the Healthcare Sector.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Review
- Digital health for climate change mitigation and response: a scoping review.Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA · 2022Article
- Assessing the carbon footprint of digital health interventions: a scoping review.Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA · 2022Article
- Planetary Health and Hospitals' Contribution-A Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This retrospective study evaluates the effect of a telemedicine program developed in the central Catalan region in lowering the environmental footprint by reducing the emission of atmospheric pollutants, thanks to a reduction in the number of hospital visits involving journeys by road. Between January 2018 and June 2019, a total of 12,322 referrals were made to telemedicine services in the primary care centers, avoiding a total of 9034 face-to-face visits. In total, the distance saved was 192,682 km, with a total travel time saving of 3779 h and a total fuel reduction of 11,754 L with an associated cost of €15,664. This represents an average reduction of 3248.3 g of carbon dioxide, 4.05 g of carbon monoxide, 4.86 g of nitric oxide and 3.2 g of sulphur dioxide. This study confirms that telemedicine reduces the environmental impact of atmospheric pollutants emitted by vehicles by reducing the number of journeys made for face-to-face visits, and thus contributing to environmental sustainability.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.