Hybrid Virtual Care Lessens Negative Environmental Impacts

July 28, 2023 - According to a case study from Blue Shield of California, hybrid virtual care has various environmental benefits within healthcare facilities, alongside improvements in the healthcare experience.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), climate change heavily impacts human lives. Beyond the present-day impacts, the WHO estimates that it will lead to 250,000 deaths annually between 2030 and 2050.

The report from Blue Shield of California indicates that lessening the carbon footprint is critical for managing climate change. Between 2010 and 2018, there was a 6 percent increase in carbon emissions within the healthcare industry nationwide, per the report. Blue Shield of California also indicated that this industry contributes 8.5 percent to carbon emissions nationally. 

The noticeable growth of virtual care solutions has led to the curiosity surrounding the potential of this type of care for reaching positive environmental outcomes.

The report highlights that virtual care options provide a reliable care modality in the event of damage to critical infrastructure.  For example, the 2018 Camp Fire in California led to billions in losses. Paradise, CA, one of the most affected towns, had 83 percent of its population displaced and 90 percent of its housing stock damaged. This had adverse effects on many primary healthcare sites.

However, Blue Shield used data from this region to determine the effects of virtual hybrid care. Through a collaboration with Anthesis and assistance from WAP Sustainability Consulting (WAP), the organization considered one year’s worth of hybrid primary care data in Paradise. Researchers also considered data from another pilot site in Sacramento. This research aimed to determine any differences in environmental footprints across care modalities.

After conducting an environmental life-cycle assessment (LCA), they determined that hybrid virtual care lowered carbon emissions by 25 percent and lowered water consumption by 35 percent across both studies.

Blue Shield researchers concluded that the uptake of virtual care has the potential to improve climate resilience while lessening the negative environmental effects of healthcare facilities.

Through increases in equity and drops in carbon levels that come with higher accessibility, there are also expected drops in expenses. The report indicated a lower-emissions setting would contribute to a 50 percent drop in annual healthcare-related costs.

Aside from positive environmental outcomes, researchers also indicate various ways through which virtual care can benefit the overall experience. These largely relate to higher accessibility, more frequent care options, less need to travel, and higher efficiency. Virtual care also positively influences long-term relationship building, better diagnoses and treatment, and less exposure to illness, which was particularly useful during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Similar research efforts have shown that telehealth can lead to positive environmental outcomes.

A study from February, for example, found that virtual cancer care can contribute to carbon emissions savings.

Researchers reached this conclusion by implementing telehealth in a single National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center. With the inclusion of over 23,000 patients who participated in over 49,000 telehealth visits, researchers divided visits into those that required a commute time of less or more than an hour.

The group with a commute time of more than an hour had significantly higher savings in carbon dioxide emissions when using telehealth. Investigators concluded that longer commutes correlate with greater carbon dioxide emissions, which could be reduced by implementing telehealth. Based on studies such as these, it is evident that telehealth can have positive effects on both the environment and patients.