Dullet Navjit W, Geraghty Estella M, Kaufman Taylor, Kissee Jamie L, King Jesse, Dharmar Madan, Smith Anthony C, Marcin James P
Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Vallejo, CA, USA.
University of California Davis, CA, USA.
Value Health. 2017 Apr;20(4):542-546. doi: 10.1016/j.jval.2017.01.014. Epub 2017 Mar 6.
The objective of this study was to estimate travel-related and environmental savings resulting from the use of telemedicine for outpatient specialty consultations with a university telemedicine program.
The study was designed to retrospectively analyze the telemedicine consultation database at the University of California Davis Health System (UCDHS) between July 1996 and December 2013. Travel distances and travel times were calculated between the patient home, the telemedicine clinic, and the UCDHS in-person clinic. Travel cost savings and environmental impact were calculated by determining differences in mileage reimbursement rate and emissions between those incurred in attending telemedicine appointments and those that would have been incurred if a visit to the hub site had been necessary.
There were 19,246 consultations identified among 11,281 unique patients. Telemedicine visits resulted in a total travel distance savings of 5,345,602 miles, a total travel time savings of 4,708,891 minutes or 8.96 years, and a total direct travel cost savings of $2,882,056. The mean per-consultation round-trip distance savings were 278 miles, average travel time savings were 245 minutes, and average cost savings were $156. Telemedicine consultations resulted in a total emissions savings of 1969 metric tons of CO, 50 metric tons of CO, 3.7 metric tons of NO, and 5.5 metric tons of volatile organic compounds.
This study demonstrates the positive impact of a health system's outpatient telemedicine program on patient travel time, patient travel costs, and environmental pollutants.
本研究的目的是评估使用远程医疗进行大学远程医疗项目门诊专科会诊所带来的与出行相关的节省及环境效益。
本研究旨在回顾性分析1996年7月至2013年12月期间加利福尼亚大学戴维斯分校医疗系统（UCDHS）的远程医疗会诊数据库。计算患者家中、远程医疗诊所和UCDHS实体诊所之间的出行距离和出行时间。通过确定参加远程医疗预约所产生的里程报销率和排放量与如果必须前往中心站点就诊所产生的里程报销率和排放量之间的差异，计算出行成本节省和环境影响。
在11281名独特患者中确定了19246次会诊。远程医疗就诊总共节省了5345602英里的出行距离，节省了4708891分钟（即8.96年）的总出行时间，直接出行成本总共节省了2882056美元。每次会诊的平均往返距离节省为278英里，平均出行时间节省为245分钟，平均成本节省为156美元。远程医疗会诊总共减少了1969公吨的一氧化碳排放、50公吨的二氧化碳排放、3.7公吨的氮氧化物排放和5.5公吨的挥发性有机化合物排放。
本研究证明了医疗系统的门诊远程医疗项目对患者出行时间、患者出行成本和环境污染物的积极影响。
