The environmental impact of telemonitoring vs. on-site cardiac follow-up

Abstract

Aims Digital health technologies are considered promising innovations to reduce healthcare’s environmental footprint. However, this assumption remains largely unstudied. We compared the environmental impact of telemonitoring and care on site (CoS) in post-myocardial infarction (MI) follow-up and explored how it influenced patients’ and healthcare professionals’ (HPs) perceptions of using telemonitoring. Methods and results We conducted a mixed-method study; a standardized life cycle assessment, and qualitative interviews and focus groups. We studied the environmental impact of resource use per patient for 1-year post-MI follow-up in a Dutch academic hospital, as CoS or partially via telemonitoring. We used the Environmental Footprint 3.1 method. Qualitative data were analysed using Thematic Analysis. The environmental impact of telemonitoring was larger than CoS for all impact categories, including global warming (+480%) and mineral/metal resource use (+4390%). Production of telemonitoring devices contributed most of the environmental burden (89%). Telemonitoring and CoS achieved parity in most impact categories at 65 km one-way patient car commute. Healthcare professionals and patients did not consider the environmental impact in their preference for telemonitoring, as the patient’s individual health was their primary concern—especially after a cardiac event. However, patients and HPs were generally positive towards sustainable healthcare and willing to use telemonitoring more sustainably. Conclusion Telemonitoring had a substantially bigger environmental impact than CoS in the studied setting. Patient commute distance, reuse of devices, and tailored use of devices should be considered when implementing telemonitoring for clinical follow-up. Patients and HPs supported these solutions to enhance sustainability-informed cardiovascular care as the default option.