Abstract
BACKGROUND: Carbon emissions are a global concern due to their significant greenhouse effect. The health care sector's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must be controlled. Telemedicine in China continued to grow between 2020 and 2022, offering a promising solution for reducing carbon emissions in the country's health sector. OBJECTIVE: This study explores the potential of telemedicine for reducing GHG emissions and saving energy through a life cycle assessment. METHODS: This study used the Chinese Environmentally Extended Input-Output database, which is based on input-output models, to quantify the GHG emissions and energy consumption associated with care outpatient and telemedicine from a life cycle perspective. Data collected from the West China Second University Hospital of Sichuan University between 2020 and 2022 were incorporated into the analyses. RESULTS: The findings indicated that telemedicine could reduce GHG emissions by 36 tCO(2)e. The GHG emissions per telemedicine session were only 19.14 kgCO(2)e and are expected to decrease from 2025 to 2030. Replacing in-person treatments with telemedicine can lead to an average reduction of 85.51 kgCO(2)e emissions. CONCLUSIONS: In the future, the widespread adoption of telemedicine could help achieve carbon neutrality in the health care sector. Telemedicine is crucial for establishing the sustainable development of the health care sector.