Outline

  • Abstract
  • Objective
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Conclusions
  • Keywords
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Overview of University of California Davis Health System’s Telemedicine Program
  • Selection of Patients
  • Outcome Measures
  • Distance Calculation
  • Travel Time and Travel Cost
  • Environmental Impact of Telemedicine
  • Sensitivity Analysis
  • Statistical Analysis and Human Subjects
  • Ethics Approval
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusions
  • References

رئوس مطالب

  • چکیده
  • کلیدواژه ها
  • مقدمه
  • مواد و روش ها
  • مرور کلی برنامه تله مدیسین سیستم بهداشتی دانشگاه کالیفرنیا دیویس
  • انتخاب بیماران
  • معیارهای خروجی
  • محاسبه فاصله
  • زمان سفر و هزینه سفر
  • اثرات زیست محیطی تله مدیسین
  • تجزیه و تحلیل میزان حساسیت
  • تجزیه و تحلیل آماری و نمونه های انسانی
  • تایید اخلاقی
  • نتایج
  • بحث
  • نتیجه گیری
  • منابع

Abstract

Objective 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.

Methods

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.

Results 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 CO2, 50 metric tons of CO, 3.7 metric tons of NOx, and 5.5 metric tons of volatile organic compounds.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates the positive impact of a health system’s outpatient telemedicine program on patient travel time, patient travel costs, and environmental pollutants.

Keywords: - -

Conclusions

In conclusion, this study provides evidence of the potential time efficiency, cost efficiency, and positive environmental impact of telemedicine for outpatient consultations, lending support for a long-term environmentally sustainable option to reduce the burden on families when receiving quality health care. Future research is encouraged to consider additional time and financial data, including more accurate alternative care models, out-of-pocket costs, and hourly wages lost from work, as well as cost-benefit analyses of patient outcomes such as wellness and satisfaction for outpatient consultations when telemedicine is used compared with face-to-face appointments. The results from this study confirm that telemedicine can reduce the environmental impact of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by reducing automobile travel. By increasing the use and distribution of health care services provided using telemedicine, patients and the environment will benefit.

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