In-person care delivery systems require that patients, staff, and caregivers travel to meet at care facilities. That travel, combined with the building, heating and lighting of those facilities, comprises a significant portion of health system greenhouse gas emissions. Moving from in-person to virtual care delivery when appropriate is therefore a promising way to reduce the environmental impacts of care delivery – in the short term, via a reduction in travel-related emissions, and in the longer term, via a decreased need to build and maintain clinical and office space.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the uptake of virtual approaches to care delivery across the country. However, the technologies used to facilitate virtual care have variable environmental impacts in their production, operation, and disposal. Transitioning to virtual care therefore involves making important choices about investment in information and communications technology. Any investment in virtual care delivery should include carefully examining its financial cost, impact on quality of care, and environmental impacts.
Previous Work
The Virtual Care Working Group leveraged expertise and data generated by many TAHSN hospitals to develop a tool to support consistent estimation of carbon savings from the travel averted by the use of virtual care. The working group also contributed to the conversation about the wider environmental impacts of virtual care from information and communication infrastructure and the energy needs associated with the growing reliance on digital health data. As well, the Working Group highlighted the importance of insuring that virtual care is used appropriately, and in accordance with patient wishes and clinical judgment.
In collaboration with CASCADES, the working group contributed to the development of:
- CASCADES Virtual Care Carbon Accounting Tool, which is featured in the playbook and has been designed to help health care sites better understand the carbon emissions and costs associated with patient travel
In 2023, the working group hosted a Sustainable Virtual Care: Tools Showcase to discuss virtual care carbon accounting tools, including their use across TAHSN
Working Group
Working Group Leads
- Peter Goldthorpe, VP Transformation, SickKids
- Oliver Tsai, Director of IT, Sunnybrook Hospital
Working Group Members
- Payal Aggarwal, Family Physician and Innovation Fellow, Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care (WIHV), Women’s College Hospital
- Bobby Gheorghiu, Manager of Trending and Performance, Canada Health Infoway
- Kyle Robinson, Director, Facilities, Operations and Sustianability, SickKids
Secretariat
- Geoff Anderson, Fellow, Centre for Sustainable Health Systems; Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation UofT; Research Lead and NPA, BeACCoN
- Nicole Simms, Managing Director, Centre for Sustainable Health Systems (through summer 2021; now with CASCADES)
Working Group Lead
- Peter Goldthorpe, VP Transformation, SickKids
Working Group Members
- Payal Aggarwal, Family Physician and Innovation Fellow, Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care (WIHV), Women’s College Hospital
- Bobby Gheorghiu, Manager of Trending and Performance, Canada Health Infoway
- Kyle Robinson, Director, Facilities, Operations and Sustainability, SickKids
Secretariat
- Geoff Anderson, Fellow, Centre for Sustainable Health Systems; Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation UofT; Research Lead and NPA, BeACCoN
- Nicole Simms, Executive Lead & Regional Coordinator (Central Canada), Cascades