Authors
Joris Galland, Thomas Rogier, François Dhelft, Adrien Bour, Emilie Forestier, Antoine Gbessemehlan, groupe Greenternist, Mathilde Autheaume
Published in
La Revue de medecine interne. Oct 09, 2026. Epub Oct 09, 2026.
Abstract
The healthcare sector accounts for approximately 8% of France's greenhouse gas emissions, a share of which is attributable to patient travel. Teleconsultation, whose expansion was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, may reduce the carbon footprint of care pathways. The aim of this study was to quantify CO2 emissions associated with internal medicine outpatient consultations at a hospital and to estimate the reduction potential linked to teleconsultation.
An observational study was conducted at the Bourg-en-Bresse General Hospital, including 301 patients seen in outpatient consultation between March and May 2025. Data were collected through patient and physician questionnaires. Travelrelated CO2 emissions were estimated from home-to-hospital distances. Eligibility for teleconsultation was defined by medical consensus.
The mean patient age was 58.5 years, and 62.6% were female. The median round-trip travel distance was 37km, and 88.7% of patients travelled by private car. Mean emissions were 6.6kgCO2eq per consultation. Teleconsultation was deemed medically feasible for 42.8% of patients. Among these, emissions decreased from 5.83 to 1.41kgCO2eq, representing a 75.4% reduction; however, only 11.8% of patients met all technical and acceptability criteria required to benefit from it.
Teleconsultation enables a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions, yet its real-world impact remains constrained by technical, human, and organisational barriers. Targeted strategies are needed to optimise its implementation.
PMID:
42855360
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 10 Oct 2026.
Read full publication at:
Please sign in
to see all details.
Advertisement
Stats
- Recommendations n/a n/a positive of 0 vote(s)
- Views 6
- Comments 0