Endocrine Abstracts

Climate change is a global health emergency, and the healthcare sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions—largely through transport. Telemedicine has emerged as a promising strategy to reduce this impact. This project aimed to assess the carbon footprint of thyroid outpatient clinics, comparing virtual and in-person consultations. Data were collected from two thyroid outpatient clinics in April 2025. For in-person attendees, mode of transport and starting point of travel to clinic were recorded. For virtual attendees, home addresses were used to estimate the distance to clinic. Travel distances were calculated using Google Maps™, and carbon emissions were estimated using published emission intensity values from the Irish Passenger Transport Emissions and Mobility model. A total of 104 patients were included: 75 (72.1%) attended in person and 29 (27.9%) virtually. Among in-person attendees, transport modes included private car (n = 45, 60%; petrol 26.7%, diesel 25.3%, hybrid 5.3%, electric 2.7%), bus (17.3%), walking (8.0%), rail (6.7%), taxi (6.7%), and bicycle (1.3%). The median round-trip distance travelled was 18.0km (IQR: 11.3-83.6km), with a median emission of 1.84 kgCO2e (IQR: 0.59-8.64 kgCO2e) per consultation. Total in-person travel emissions were 470.12 kgCO2e. For virtual attendees, the median estimated round-trip distance was 20.4 km (IQR: 14.3-131.6 km). Assuming the same transport distribution, the estimated median emission was 2.0 kgCO2e (IQR 2.0-6.43 kgCO2e) per consultation, with total emissions of 150.28 kgCO2e. Including 27.9% virtual consultations led to a 24.2% reduction in total travel-related carbon emissions, supporting telemedicine as a strategy for sustainable outpatient care.