What is the major contributor to local pollution and global warming In India?
Vehicular emissions are a major contributor to local pollution and global warming.
In India, about 88% of the carbon dioxide emissions come from traffic.
Across cities alone, over a three-month period, the study found that teleconsultation.
This led to 1,666 fewer kilometres of travel and an average reduction of 176.6 kg of carbon dioxide emissions
A study by researchers at the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), Hyderabad, has found that around 70-80% of people.
Visit an eye hospital can benefit from teleconsultations because their problems aren’t serious enough to require attention at a hospital.
The study was published in the journal Eye.
Telemedicine has emerged as a viable alternative to in-person consultations with doctors in many contexts because it saves patients’ time and expenses.
Which can be considerable if they are located in remote areas and/or are not well to do.
But as more people pick this option, another advantage is coming to the fore: lower emissions.
Impact of teleconsultation in carbon dioxide emissions.
The study involved 324 patients who received teleconsultations within a three-month period.
This included 173 patients who visited LVPEI’s rural primary eye centres and 151 that visited urban tertiary hospitals.
The researchers assessed their carbon footprint based on the type of transport the patients used to commute to the clinic.
They also evaluated the economic impact using estimated cost savings from travel, food, and lost wages.
Patients at rural centres were tagged ‘green,’ ‘yellow’ or ‘red’ based on the severity and urgency of medical intervention required.
Around 70% of such patients were tagged ‘green’ because they could benefit from a teleconsultation alone.
The remaining 30% travelled to a hospital.
Their travel and emission costs were used to validate emissions and costs avoided by those tagged ‘green’.
Patients in urban centres were classified as ‘new’ or ‘follow-up’; modes of travel and costs were evaluated and included in the study.
Half of the patients in rural areas (49.5%) said they would have travelled by bus, while 38.7% would have used a two-wheeler to access care.
Researchers estimated that teleophthalmology saved 80 km of travel and reduced 2.89 kg of carbon dioxide emissions per rural-area patient on average.
That translated to around 1.2 litres of petrol saved per person over three months (with an emission factor of 0.1135 kg of carbon dioxide per passenger per km).
The numbers were more pronounced for urban tertiary-care hospitals.
Care-seekers from around India came to LVPEI’s tertiary centres in four southern Indian cities.
Some 41% of them travelled by train; 19% flew; and 11% took buses.
Each deferred patient visit saved an average of 1,666 km of travel and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 176.6 kg over three months.
Each decision to defer also saved around 76 litres of fuel.
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