Carbon Emissions From Patient Travel for Health Care

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Public Health
• Transportation Studies

Background:

• The US healthcare sector contributes approximately 8.5% to national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
• Accurate estimations of emissions from healthcare-related travel are crucial for policy development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify national carbon emissions from patient travel for healthcare in the US.
• To identify factors influencing these emissions and explore potential reduction strategies.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the 2022 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) for a cross-sectional analysis.
• Calculated CO2 equivalent (CO2e) emissions per mile using government vehicle emissions data.
• Employed regression analysis to identify factors associated with higher emissions and modeled reductions from electric vehicle adoption.

Main Results:

• Patient travel resulted in an estimated 35.7 megatons (Mt) of CO2e emissions annually.
• Each mile traveled produced an average of 424 g CO2e.
• Rural patients and those with higher household incomes ($50,000-$99,999) exhibited higher per-trip emissions.
• A 30% and 50% shift to electric vehicles could reduce emissions to 27.6 Mt and 22.3 Mt CO2e, respectively.

Conclusions:

• Patient healthcare travel is a notable contributor to US healthcare-related GHG emissions.
• Strategies like promoting telehealth and increasing electric vehicle use in healthcare travel can significantly mitigate environmental impact.
• Findings support informed policy decisions for sustainable healthcare practices.