A new study calls on the general public to “save the planet” by avoiding visits to the doctor because seeking in-person medical care allegedly causes “global warming.”
The researchers behind the study, who received taxpayer funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), claim people can help “cut greenhouse emissions” by seeking help online or over the phone, rather than visiting their doctor.
The results of the UCLA-led study were published in The American Journal of Managed Care.
By speaking to a “virtual doctor” online instead of a trusted real physician, the researchers say people can help reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which “The Science” now insists is destroying the planet.
According to the study, telemedicine saved millions of pounds of CO₂ each month in 2023.
The 47.6 million kilograms of carbon dioxide monthly supposedly saved by avoiding doctors in 2023 is roughly equivalent to the emissions from 130,000 gas-powered vehicles.
The study notes that the pandemic normalized virtual healthcare practically overnight.
However, researchers are now claiming that the absence of doctor visits during the pandemic helps to fight “climate change.”
The study claims that America’s healthcare sector contributes a whopping 9% of all “greenhouse gas emissions.”
This would place it even above the entire aviation industry as a contributor to climate change, the study claims.
The study found that 2023 telemedicine usage levels modestly decreased the “carbon footprint” of American healthcare delivery.
Researchers examined data from 44.7 million American adults with various insurance types—Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial plans—representing about 19% of all insured U.S. adults.
They counted a monthly average of nearly 1.5 million telemedicine visits between April and June 2023, with about 66,000 of those occurring in rural areas.
The study argues that 91% of in-person doctors’ visits could be replaced with online “virtual care.”
According to the researchers, telemedicine prevented the emission of at least 4 million kilograms of CO₂ monthly within the study population.
When extrapolated to the entire U.S. adult population and factoring in variables like electric vehicle usage and public transportation, the monthly emissions savings ranged from 21.4 to 47.6 million kilograms.
Transportation sits at the heart of these savings, the researchers explain.
They argue that rural citizens contribute the most to “global warming” when they visit a doctor.
The study calculates that rural patients drive an average of 17.8 miles to their usual care provider.
Urban patients, meanwhile, are averaging 8.1 miles per trip.
The researchers said they factored in regional differences and various types of vehicles on the road to calculate the “emissions impact.”
The researchers insist that reducing healthcare’s “carbon footprint” produces positive downstream effects on human health.
The paper suggests that adding 4.4 million kilograms of CO₂ annually causes one temperature-related excess death globally.
However, this does not include alleged deaths from other “climate impacts,” like increased pollution or infectious disease spread.
Unsurprisingly, the researchers didn’t provide evidence of these deaths allegedly caused by “climate change.”
The researchers also didn’t note how many people would die from avoiding doctors’ visits.
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