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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Yearbook of Medical Informatics

Telehealth for Addressing Climate Change: A Position Statement

  • Anandhi Ramachandran1
  • Shashi Gogia2
  • Gumindu Kulatunga3
  • Craig Kuziemsky4
  • Sheila John5
  • Tania Moerenhout6
  • Marcia Ito7
  • Prasad Ranatunga8
  • Usman Iqbal9
  • Kleber Arajuo10
  • Ho Kendall11
  • Inga Hunter12
2 more authors
  • Sriram Iyengar13
  • Arindam Basu14
14 affiliations
  1. 1International Institute of Health Management Research Delhi India
  2. 2Society for Administration of Telemedicine and Healthcare Informatics New Delhi India
  3. 3Health Information Unit, Ministry of Health Colombo Sri Lanka
  4. 4Office of Research Services, MacEwan University Edmonton Alberta Canada
  5. 5Medical Research Foundation, Sankara Nethralaya Chennai India
  6. 6Bioethics Centre, University of Otago (Otakou Whakaihu Waka) Aotearoa New Zealand
  7. 7Paula Souza State Center for Technological Education São Paulo Brazil
  8. 8Provincial Department of Health Services - North-Western Province Sri Lanka
  9. 9School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales Sydney Australia
  10. 10Medicina Interna e Saúde Digital Recife Pernambuco Brazil
  11. 11Department of Emergency Medicine, The University of British Colombia Canada
  12. 12School of Management, Massey University New Zealand
  13. 13University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix USA
  14. 14School of Health Sciences, University of Canterbury New Zealand
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Abstract

Introduction: The health sector is a major contributor to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions. Telehealth, the delivery of healthcare services remotely through communication technologies is on the rise globally as evidenced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we express our opinion through a position statement of how telehealth can be effectively adopted for addressing climate change mitigation using a systems thinking approach.

Methods: We conducted a narrative review of the literature and an online modified Delphi method among the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) Telehealth Working Group members to develop a set of themes for an evidenced based position statement on the adoption of telehealth for climate change.

Results: Telehealth has demonstrated success in providing effective healthcare services through teleconsulting and remote monitoring. It has also shown to help reduce carbon dioxide equivalent gas emissions due to reduced travel since it required fewer in-person visits. At the same time, large energy consumption for complex devices and artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) based data processing applications, e-waste generation from device lifecycle, the potentially negative impact on the quality of care provided with resultant increase in health system encounters undermine the benefits of telehealth. Equity, privacy and security issues are other challenges that need to be considered.

Conclusions: It is possible to integrate telehealth as an integral component of climate change mitigation efforts through a systems thinking approach. The services should be resilient to climate change events, and support mitigation efforts through promotion, prevention, monitoring, management and governance activities. More research is needed to substantiate and investigate this model of healthcare.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{ramachandran2026telehealth,
  title = {{Telehealth for Addressing Climate Change: A Position Statement}},
  author = {Anandhi Ramachandran and Shashi Gogia and Gumindu Kulatunga and Craig Kuziemsky and Sheila John and Tania Moerenhout and Marcia Ito and Prasad Ranatunga and Usman Iqbal and Kleber Arajuo and Ho Kendall and Inga Hunter and Sriram Iyengar and Arindam Basu},
  journal = {Yearbook of Medical Informatics},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  doi = {10.1055/s-0046-1816597},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0046-1816597},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Telehealth for Addressing Climate Change: A Position Statement
AU  - Anandhi Ramachandran
AU  - Shashi Gogia
AU  - Gumindu Kulatunga
AU  - Craig Kuziemsky
AU  - Sheila John
AU  - Tania Moerenhout
AU  - Marcia Ito
AU  - Prasad Ranatunga
AU  - Usman Iqbal
AU  - Kleber Arajuo
AU  - Ho Kendall
AU  - Inga Hunter
AU  - Sriram Iyengar
AU  - Arindam Basu
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/03
JO  - Yearbook of Medical Informatics
DO  - 10.1055/s-0046-1816597
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0046-1816597
AB  - Introduction: The health sector is a major contributor to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions. Telehealth, the delivery of healthcare services remotely through communication technologies is on the rise globally as evidenced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we express our opinion through a position statement of how telehealth can be effectively adopted for addressing climate change mitigation using a systems thinking approach.  Methods: We conducted a narrative review of the literature and an online modified Delphi method among the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) Telehealth Working Group members to develop a set of themes for an evidenced based position statement on the adoption of telehealth for climate change.  Results: Telehealth has demonstrated success in providing effective healthcare services through teleconsulting and remote monitoring. It has also shown to help reduce carbon dioxide equivalent gas emissions due to reduced travel since it required fewer in-person visits. At the same time, large energy consumption for complex devices and artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) based data processing applications, e-waste generation from device lifecycle, the potentially negative impact on the quality of care provided with resultant increase in health system encounters undermine the benefits of telehealth. Equity, privacy and security issues are other challenges that need to be considered.  Conclusions: It is possible to integrate telehealth as an integral component of climate change mitigation efforts through a systems thinking approach. The services should be resilient to climate change events, and support mitigation efforts through promotion, prevention, monitoring, management and governance activities. More research is needed to substantiate and investigate this model of healthcare.
SN  - 0943-4747
SN  - 2364-0502
ER  -