Remote Consultation in Prostate Cancer Clinics: Impact on Carbon Footprint and Patient Satisfaction
Khan 1, C. Kent 1, F. Clark 1
(1) University Hospitals Leicester, Leicester – United Kingdom
Objective:
Healthcare contributes around 4-5% of total UK carbon emissions. The National Health Service (NHS) in England alone is responsible for 40% of the public sector’s emissions. During and after Covid, remote consultations were started in the NHS. These remote consultations reduce the travelling time and cost for the patients but how does these affect our environment has not been investigated thoroughly. Quantify the reduction in carbon emissions achieved by implementing remote consultations in our Prostate Cancer clinics. Calculate the environmental benefit in terms of reduced patient travel and associated CO2 emissions. Assess patient perceptions of remote consultations, including preference and overall satisfaction.
Methods:
One month of prospective data collection from our Prostate Cancer Clinics. Patients who had Telephone consultation during that clinic were interviewed after seeking their permission. Their usual mode of travel and distance was documented. Patient preference was asked about Telephone consultation compared with Remote Video and Face-to-Face clinic review. Patient satisfaction with regards to the Telephone consultation was documented on a scale of 0-10.
Results:
61 patients were interviewed in one month. 55 out of the 61 were Prostate Cancer patients, one was Penile Cancer and 5 Endometrial Cancer. The average distance from the hospital was 40.1Km. Total Carbon dioxide (CO2) emission saved for all 61 patients: 811Kg. Average CO2 emission saved per patient per visit: 13.3Kg. Total CO2 emission saved for all 61 patients for one year: 3707Kg. Average CO2 emission saved per patient for one year: 60.8Kg. 15% and 84% of the patients preferred a Face-to-Face and Telephone consultation respectively. 29.5% and 57.3% of the patients gave a score of 9 and 10 respectively for “Patient satisfaction” with the Telephone consultations.
Conclusions:
Our findings suggest Telephone consultation have significant positive impact on the CO2 emissions and for one patient that has been reviewed remotely we have saved around 44.5 home deliveries by an average Mail company. Therefore, Telephone consultations should be encouraged where appropriate as patients are also satisfied with these in the right setting.
Abstract Code: IUC20761-81