Exploring the Carbon Footprint of Electronic Medical Records (EMR)

Electronic medical records (EMR) are gaining worldwide popularity amongst medical providers. Thiel et al explore the environmental implications of using EMR systems compared to paper-record keeping systems. In a novel Life Cycle Assessment Study, the investigators assess environmental emissions from paper medical records and a replacement EMR system at a high-volume eye hospital in Southern India. They found that the EMR system emitted substantially more greenhouse gases (0.361 kg CO2e per patient visit) compared to a paper medical system (0.037 kg CO2e per patient visit). However, they also found that the source of electricity significantly affected greenhouse gas emissions; if using renewable sources, EMR emissions dropped to 0.046 kg CO2e/patient. Overall, the authors highlight that EMR systems produce similar levels of carbon emissions as paper records if utilizing decarbonized energy sources. The healthcare-specific benefits of EMRs including operational efficiency and expanded access to care may be accentuated by sustainably designed EMR systems.