Carbon Emissions Associated with Patient Travel for Visits at a Pediatric Tertiary Care Center: A Retrospective Analysis.

Abstract

Background: Carbon emissions associated with patient travel for hospital visits contribute to climate change. This study estimated carbon emissions from patients travelling for in-person visits and carbon emissions associated with virtual health visits at the BC Children's and Women's Hospital Campus in 2021-2022. Methods: Anonymized visit data categorized by in-person/virtual, and aggregated by patients' home city/town, and fiscal quarter was obtained. Mode of travel assumptions were based on economic region and seasonality. Carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO_2e) for a realistic scenario and alternative scenarios were calculated using equations derived from reference data. Results: There were 397,962 patient visits (19% virtual) associated with an estimated 10,001 metric tons of CO_2e. Alternative scenarios showed that if patients from Northern or Interior regions travelled by plane during the winter, emissions decreased (-14%). While the proportion of visits that were virtual ranged from 16% to 40% by region, if all regions had 40% virtual visits, emissions would decrease by 14%. The largest reduction in carbon emissions (-26%) was found in the scenario where patients from Northern and Interior regions travelled by plane in the winter and the proportion of virtual visits increased to 40%. Conclusion: These findings underscore the need to raise awareness of the carbon footprint of healthcare related travel. The study urges a thoughtful consideration of planetary health when choosing between in-person and virtual visits, recognizing the ability to lower emissions by conducting virtual visits where appropriate.