COST AND POLLUTANTS EMISSION REDUCTION WITH A TELEMEDICINE PROGRAM FOR HIP SURGERY IN BRAZIL

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Health Economics
• Environmental Health

Background:

• Telemedicine offers potential benefits for managing hip pathologies.
• Understanding the economic and environmental impacts is crucial for equitable healthcare access.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the economic and environmental impacts of telemedicine for hip patients.
• To correlate socioeconomic factors with telemedicine preference.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 148 patients with hip pathologies.
• Data collected on preferences, socioeconomic profile, travel, and costs.
• Calculated avoided distance, time, and emissions; statistical analysis performed.

Main Results:

• 77.7% of patients preferred telemedicine, avoiding an average of 168.84 km and 223.97 minutes.
• Significant out-of-pocket savings and a total reduction of ~7 metric tons of CO2 emissions.
• Higher income positively correlated with telemedicine preference (p=0.0283).

Conclusions:

• Telemedicine improves access by reducing time, costs, and environmental impact.
• Wealthier patients show higher preference, suggesting potential disparities for lower-income groups.
• Further research needed to address low adherence in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations.