Impact of Telemedicine on Financial Burden to Patients and Carbon Footprint at an Endocrine Oncology Clinic

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine has become an increasingly utilized resource in all fields of medicine, allowing greater access to and efficiency of medical care. This study seeks to quantify the average reduction in cost to patients and carbon footprint attributable to telemedicine for endocrine cancer care. Method(s) This retrospective cohort study includes telemedicine visits for in-state patients from April 1, 2020, to June 20, 2021, at the endocrine oncology clinic of a single National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. The primary outcome is cost savings of endocrine cancer care with use of telemedicine. This includes 2 components (1) direct costs of travel (round-trip distance of car travel) and (2) loss of productivity due to the clinic visit (loss of income from travel and in-office visit time). The secondary outcome is reduction of carbon footprint (kg CO2 emissions) with use of telemedicine. Result(s) There were 3171 telemedicine visits for 2921 patients conducted within the designated time frame. Telemedicine was associated with total savings of 494,895 round-trip travel miles for patients (9734 hours total drive time). An additional 3613 hours were saved in accounting for time to park, enter the building, and wait. Telemedicine resulted in an average savings of $145/visit for patients under 65 years old and $111/visit for patients greater than 65 years old. Additionally, telemedicine reduced the carbon footprint by an average of 46.18 kg CO2 emissions per visit. Conclusion(s) As the costs of medical care continue to rise, further implementation of telemedicine may result in significant savings for patients. This study found that telemedicine is associated with reduction in financial burden caused by both travel and time costs. Additionally, implementation of telemedicine may significantly reduce the carbon footprint of endocrine cancer care. These data need to be interpreted in the context of clinical efficacy of the telemedicine visit, which will require additional study of clinical impact, patient satisfaction, and oncological outcomes.