Virtual Care Benefits Calculator

Calculating the financial, environmental, and time saving benefits of choosing virtual care over in-person visits.

About the Calculator

This calculator can help you better understand the cumulative impact of virtual care in terms of cost, greenhouse gas emissions and time savings. Each field contains default values obtained from the 2021 Canadian Digital Health Survey . You can also customize and input your own numbers based on your experience with accessing in-person care.

For additional information, background and detailed methodology related to the link between virtual care and health care sustainability, please refer to: The environmental benefits of virtual care utilization in Canada: An analysis of travel distance avoided and associated carbon reductions as reported in the Canada Health Infoway Canadian Digital Health Survey 2021: What Canadians Think

DISCLAIMER: this tool is for educational and awareness purposes only, no data will be collected.

Step 1: Input your values

Which health care setting are you going to visit?



How would you describe the community you live in?




Approximately how far do you have to travel for this type of visit in Kilometres (km)?

Based on your answers to the questions above, the field below has been populated with an average distance travelled. Enter your own data for the most accurate result.

Please visit the Access to Care page of the 2021 Canadian Digital Health Survey to learn more.

Mode of Transportation

Please indicate the mode of transportation you would use when you are traveling for an in-person visit with a health care provider.


How much time in your day do you typically need to visit this type of health care provider in person?

On average, Canadians spend 1.5 hours, including travel time, waiting time and appointment time, for an in-person visit with their health care provider. Input your own estimation by moving the slider below.


Time Spent: hours



How much do you usually spend on dependent care when you visit this type of health care provider in person?

The average dependent care expense (child care, etc.) is $53. Input your own estimation by moving the slider below. If you do not have a dependent, you can move the slider to $0.

Dependent Care Expenses: $




How much does it typically cost you to travel when you visit this type of health care provider in person?

The average travel expense (parking, gas, public transit etc.) generated during an in-person visit is $37. Input your own estimation by moving the slider below.


Travel Expenses: $



What is your estimated income loss from taking time off work to visit this type of health care provider in person?

The average Canadians' income loss is $56 from taking time off work to visit a health care provider. Input your own estimation by moving the slider below.


Income Loss: $



Approximately how many virtual visits with this type of health care provider do you have per year?




Step 2: View your results

Total Cost Avoided

Total Costs Avoided [CAD]:
$

Total Carbon Emissions Saved

Total Carbon Emissions Saved [g]:
g

Total Time Saved

Total Time Saved [hr]:
hr

Equal to carbon dioxide emissions from:
Passenger Vehicles
0 Passenger vehicles per year
Home Electricity
0 Homes' electricity use for one year


Step 3: Apply to a larger population

Choosing virtual visits over in-person ones, where appropriate, can yield impactful financial and environmental benefits.

According to the 2021 Canadian Digital Health Survey, Canadians averaged 6.8 visits to their family doctors, walk-in clinics, specialists, emergency departments and other health providers in 2021. It is therefore estimated that in total, Canadian adults make 210 million visits to health care providers per year. Select the options below to see the financial, environmental, and time savings that would occur if different percentages of those 210 million visits were virtual visits.







Step 4: View extrapolated results

Total Cost Avoided

Total Costs Avoided [CAD]:
$

Total Carbon Emissions Saved

Total Carbon Emissions Saved [g]:
g

Total Time Saved

Total Time Saved [hr]:
hr

Equal to carbon dioxide emissions from:
Passenger Vehicles
0 Passenger vehicles per year
Home Electricity
0 Homes' electricity use for one year

Definition

This section includes the formulas and definitions for carbon emissions equivalency conversion.

The definition of a passenger vehicle is a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 3,856 kilograms. Two elements were considered to determine the CO2 equivalent emissions per vehicle:

  1. The total amount of CO2 equivalent emissions attributed to passenger light duty vehicles;
  2. The estimated stock of the vehicles. According to the most recent statistical data available, the total amount of GHG emissions for passenger light duty vehicles was 72.1 metric tonnes and the estimated stock was 22.089 million in 2016. Reference: Natural Resources Canada

According to the most recent statistical data available, the total emissions of the residential sector attributed to electricity was 21.4 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent, and the GHG intensity is approximately 1.5 tonne/household. Reference: Natural Resources Canada

Thank you to Our Partners

This virtual care benefits calculator was developed in collaboration with CASCADES and the Sustainable Health System Community of Practice (CoP).

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