Carbon Footprint Reduction Associated With Multidisciplinary Pediatric Airway Clinics: A Program Evaluation Study.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Healthcare Management
• Pediatric Medicine

Background:

• Healthcare contributes significantly to the climate crisis.
• Multidisciplinary clinics (MDC) offer a potential solution by consolidating appointments to reduce travel.
• This study is the first to quantify the carbon footprint of pediatric airway MDCs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the carbon footprint and financial savings of a pediatric airway multidisciplinary clinic.
• To assess the impact of consolidating otolaryngology and respirology appointments.
• To provide data for adapting similar models in other healthcare settings.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 560 appointments for 300 patients from January 2018 to December 2022.
• Utilized the CASCADES carbon accounting tool with patient postal codes and parking rates.
• Calculated carbon emissions based on sustainable and unsustainable transportation modes and associated travel costs.

Main Results:

• A total of 77,785 km in travel were averted, saving 16.21 tonnes of carbon emissions.
• This is equivalent to the emissions of 5 passenger vehicles or 6906 liters of gasoline.
• Patients saved between $28,891.83 and $33,774.55 in travel and parking costs.

Conclusions:

• Pediatric airway multidisciplinary clinics effectively reduce carbon emissions and provide financial benefits to patients.
• The MDC model demonstrates a viable strategy for mitigating climate change within the healthcare sector.
• This approach can be replicated across institutions to promote environmental sustainability in healthcare.