Quantifying the Carbon Footprint Reduction of Remote Healthcare Delivery and Devising Sustainable E-Waste Lifecycles for Rural Medical IoT

• Adaan Ahsun

  Covenant University

  Author

The rapid expansion of telemedicine and the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) presents a critical paradox: while remote healthcare delivery offers substantial reductions in travel-related carbon emissions, the proliferation of medical IoT devices introduces significant environmental burdens through energy consumption and electronic waste (e-waste). This research addresses the dual challenge of quantifying the carbon footprint reduction achievable through rural telemedicine deployment while developing sustainable lifecycle management strategies for medical IoT devices. Employing a mixed-methods approach combining retrospective data analysis from 52,878 remote consultations and prospective lifecycle assessment modeling, the study quantifies carbon emissions avoided through telemedicine implementation and evaluates the environmental costs of IoMT device lifecycles. Key findings indicate that telemedicine deployment achieves an 89.4% reduction in per-consultation carbon emissions compared to in-person visits, with a total avoidance of 939,641.94 kg CO₂ across the study period. Lifecycle analysis reveals that 85-95% of a medical IoT device's carbon footprint occurs during manufacturing, highlighting the imperative for circular economy approaches. The study proposes a Green Telemedi-Grid framework integrating edge-AI processing, renewable-powered infrastructure, and circular e-waste lifecycles. These findings offer actionable frameworks for healthcare administrators, policymakers, and technology developers seeking to align digital health transformation with environmental sustainability goals while addressing rural healthcare access disparities.

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Copyright (c) 2026 Adaan Ahsun (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.