Greenhouse gas emissions of a large, academic outpatient orthopedic center in the United States

This initial study highlights the significant contribution of Scope 3 emissions to an outpatient center's greenhouse gas footprint. It specifically identifies patient travel as a major contributor to emissions; this is particularly important since patient travel is not always included in Greenhouse Gas Protocol healthcare assessments and patient travel can be mitigated in some circumstances by utilizing telemedicine. The emissions distribution across scopes is similar to other international hospitals, indicating generalizability, though the high proportion of patient travel emissions is unique to this outpatient-focused facility.