Eldeeb Sohayla, Chieng Amy, Xu Cindy Tran, Prochaska Judith J
Department of Medicine, Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA.
Health Education, Engagement and Promotion, Stanford Health Care, Menlo Park, California, USA.
Telemed Rep. 2025 Jun 24;6(1):171-178. doi: 10.1089/tmr.2025.0019. eCollection 2025.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trap in heat responsible for global warming. Stanford Tobacco Treatment Service uses telehealth for patient care.
To quantify the environmental benefits of the clinic, data were abstracted from the electronic health record between March 17, 2020, and September 20, 2022. Round trip distances from address zip code to clinic were calculated to quantify GHG. Reductions in cigarettes from baseline to 24-month follow up were analyzed.
The sample of 556 patients averaged 2 sessions and 156.8 miles per round trip, saving 148.8 kg of GHG emissions per patient. Ninety-four patients had tobacco usage data at both timepoints; 83 (88%) used cigarettes and had an average decrease of 5.5 cigarettes per day.
Applying findings to the 1,820 patients treated, the clinic has averted 271 metric tons of GHG travel emissions via telehealth; equivalent to 693,101 miles driven. Investing in telehealth tobacco cessation can prevent illnesses, health care expenditures, and environmental hazards.
温室气体(GHG)排放会捕获导致全球变暖的热量。斯坦福烟草治疗服务中心使用远程医疗进行患者护理。
为了量化该诊所的环境效益,从2020年3月17日至2022年9月20日的电子健康记录中提取数据。计算从地址邮政编码到诊所的往返距离以量化温室气体。分析从基线到24个月随访期间香烟使用量的减少情况。
556名患者的样本平均每人进行2次诊疗,每次往返平均156.8英里,每位患者节省148.8千克温室气体排放。94名患者在两个时间点都有烟草使用数据;其中83名(88%)使用香烟,平均每天减少5.5支。
将研究结果应用于1820名接受治疗的患者,该诊所通过远程医疗避免了271公吨的温室气体出行排放;相当于行驶693,101英里。投资于远程医疗戒烟可以预防疾病、医疗保健支出和环境危害。