Pathways to sustainable health care development: Study on the carbon reduction potential of telemedicine in China
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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 tCO2e. The GHG emissions per telemedicine session were only 19.14 kgCO2e and are expected to decrease from 2025 to 2030. Replacing in-person treatments with telemedicine can lead to an average reduction of 85.51 kgCO2e 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.
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The socio-economic impact of AR-assisted interventions encompasses multi-level cost savings and geographic liberation.
“Beyond these ecological factors, the socio-economic impact of AR-assisted interventions encompasses multi-level cost savings and geographic liberation [36].”
From Advancing Undergraduate Student Mental Healthcare of Social Anxiety Disorder: Evaluating the Acceptance of AR-Assisted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Through TAM-Based Constructs. (2026) · cites this paper as [36]
The Introduction’s Literature Review (page unavailable) says telemedicine can reduce patients’ costs and improve access by reducing travel time and distance. It does not address AR-assisted interventions, so it cannot establish those benefits for AR specifically; nor does it establish the claimed multi-level cost savings. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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- Authors
- Li, Z., Xiang, L., Ning, J., Li, W., Huang, Y., & Xiao, X.
- Affiliations
- Sichuan University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Xiao, Xue
- Venue
- Journal of Medical Internet Research
- Publisher
- JMIR Publications Inc.
- Published
- 2025-02-24
- Volume
- 27
- Pages
- e63927
- ISSN
- 1438-8871 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC11894342
- OpenAlex
- W4407900077
- Cited by
- 7
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 3
- FWCI
- 6.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Journal of Medical Internet Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Environmental Impact and Sustainability
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Green IT and Sustainability
- Keywords
- telemedicine, greenhouse gas emissions, carbon emission reduction, energy consumption, outpatient care, carbon neutrality, sustainable health care, life cycle assessment, China
- MeSH terms
- Greenhouse Gases, Sustainable Development, Carbon, China, Humans, Telemedicine, Greenhouse Effect
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