Climate Change
Virtual health care has officially arrived and is creating significant environmental benefits.
Yes, you can receive high level professional physiotherapy services from the comfort of your home or office and help the planet at the same time.
In 2009, the Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change declared climate change the biggest global health threat of the 21st century (1). In 2015, they revised this to say that tackling climate change could be the greatest health opportunity of the 21st century (2).
Paradoxically, the health care sector is a significant contributor to this greatest global health threat: If the global health sector were a country, it would be the 5th largest carbon emitter on the planet (3).
Virtual care has been identified as a key component of an environmentally sustainable health system. It reduces carbon emissions through:
Reduced travel (for patients, caregivers and staff)
Reduced physical infrastructure by reducing need to maintain existing or construct new health facilities (4)
Virtual care also has the potential to improve access to preventative care and information which reduces the need for health services overall (4). A 2014 study by Holmner et al on telerehabilitation showed it to be carbon cost-effective when traveling a distance of just 3.6 km or more for a 1-hour appointment (5). We travel farther than that for all kinds of appointments all the time, but what if we didn’t need to?
At CARYphysio we want to do our part to create healthier communities through a more sustainable health care system. We can see you virtually when you’re at home, at work, or even out of province, as long as your permanent address is within Ontario.
References
1. University Health Network. Environmental Scan for Strategic Planning 2017. 2017.
2. Managing the health effects of climate change: Lancet and University College London Institute for Global Health Commission. Costello, A, et al. 9676, 2009, Lancet, Vol. 373, pp. 1693-1733.
3. Health and climate change: policy responses to protect public health. Watts, N, et al. 10006, 2015, Lancet, Vol. 386, pp. 1861-1914.
4. Health Care Without Harm. Health Care's Climate Footprint How the Health Sector Contributes to the Global Climate Crisis and Opportunities for Action. s.l. : Arup, 2019.
5. The case for virtual care as a key component of environmentally sustainable health systems. University of Toronto's Centre for Sustainable Health Systems. s.l. : Canada Health Infoway, 2020. How the Rise of Virtual Care is Contributing to Sustainable Health Care Webinar.