Background/objectives: Other medical specialties have studied how their practices influence the environment, but environmental impact studies in the field of dermatology remain limited. With respect to dermatology, vehicle emissions by patients traveling to and from appointments are an important factor influencing climate change. This study was undertaken to determine the greenhouse gas emissions avoided by managing isotretinoin virtually at West Virginia University Hospital.
Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted during the COVID-19 outbreak from March 25 to December 1, 2020, where travel data were acquired and converted to emission data.
Results: 5,137 kg of GHG emissions in CO2 equivalents were prevented by managing isotretinoin virtually during the study period. 49 400 kg of GHG emissions in CO2 equivalents would be prevented annually. This is the emission load released when 24 690 kg of coal are burned.
Conclusions: Environmental impact studies in the field of dermatology remain limited. GHG emissions were significantly reduced by virtually managing isotretinoin at a single institution. The practice of dermatology could reduce its carbon footprint by managing isotretinoin virtually, even in non-pandemic periods. Given that isotretinoin management represents a small percentage of the overall carbon footprint associated with dermatology, dermatologists should identify other conditions amenable to virtual medicine to produce greater environmental impact.
Keywords: carbon footprint; isotretinoin; virtual medicine.
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