How green is health informatics?
John Leach makes the case for using teleconferencing technology to cut CO2 emissions by reducing the need to travel One of the benefits of technology is that it can transform the way we do business. This includes increasing access. Telemedicine and telecare are clear candidates to enable such transformation. We can already obtain advice from NHS Direct/NHS 24 in the UK, and there are some interesting and innovative applications of telemedicine and telecare. These enable people to stay in their own homes and they have the potential to reduce the number of journeys made to support these people. It is reasonable to ask if this has a positive impact for the environment in terms of a reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases. There are probably thousands of small reductions in emissions that cumulatively could have a major impact. These benefits should be identified; they might influence the way we view the opportunities that technology offers us. However, we should also be aware of som
