If you’re being treated in a hospital, your immediate concern may not include plastic waste, but maybe you should. As awareness of the link between the environment and human health grows, some wonder if the US health care system’s “do no harm” pledge extends to the natural world.
The surgeon puts the surgical gown in the trash. (Image credit: Getty Images)
This sector accounts for nearly 10% of US emissions and is one of the nation’s largest waste producers. About a quarter of that is single-use plastic in the form of syringes, test kits, gloves, and other equipment. However, some medical institutions use automated machines to inject insulin into syringes instead of using individual vials, and collect unused bedside supplies rather than throwing them away after the patient is discharged. Through initiatives such as donating and installing solar panels, we are successful in sustainability.
Below, Desiree Laveau, an infectious disease doctor at Stanford University, and Navami Jain, an undergraduate, are joined by Helen Wilmot, Chief Sustainability Officer at Stanford Health Care and Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, respectively. and Kristin Foster to discuss alternatives to single-use medical supplies and the need for regulation. change etc. Jain and LaBeaud recently co-authored a commentary. AMA Ethics Journal, How Should U.S. Healthcare Lead Global Change in Plastic Waste Disposal? Wilmot attended a roundtable discussion on reducing the healthcare industry’s climate warming emissions at the White House this past June. Foster has presented at various national conferences on decarbonizing healthcare.
What are the most promising solutions for making healthcare more sustainable?
Wilmot: Each health system establishes policies that determine sustainability criteria for goods and services (such as greenhouse gas emissions and chemicals of concern) and includes contractual language for suppliers to report such criteria is needed. Additionally, the industry needs a regulatory environment that emphasizes reusable over disposables. At the federal level, FDA should require suppliers to default to reusable items and justify single-use single-use items where appropriate.
Gian: One solution that has received a lot of attention is reusable gowns. A 2020 Stanford-led study provides evidence of safety, sustainability and cost savings. Many institutions, notably UCLA and UCSF, use these gowns regularly.
What are the biggest obstacles to making US healthcare more sustainable?
Gian: Lack of accountability in both organizational operations and supply chain procurement. Sustainability is far from a priority in hospitals and other healthcare facilities, and no one is to blame for failing in that regard.
Foster: The lack of product-level sustainability data creates a barrier to decision-making with overall carbon impact in mind. About 77% of Stanford’s Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital carbon footprint is attributed to his chain of supplies. Our percentages are higher than the industry average. This is because we have already reduced or eliminated many other sources of greenhouse gases in our operations.
Wilmot: Healthcare systems have many important priorities that compete with sustainability, including quality initiatives, cost containment, and patient satisfaction. Making changes, adjusting workflows, and changing medical products is difficult when the focus is always on other emergencies.
To what extent is staff or public perception of switching from disposable items marketed as more hygienic to reusable items that may be perceived as less hygienic or unsafe? How can healthcare organizations overcome these concerns?
Gian: Many concerns stem from uncertainties regarding quality control strategies for reusable products. We believe that staff and patients have an obligation to communicate transparently about sterilization procedures and research-backed evidence of product safety.
Labeau: Again, I think consciousness is a big part of this. Sustainability and climate impacts on health must be integrated into the medical curriculum from the start. With grants and prizes to encourage innovative ideas in sustainability, we can get healthcare workers excited to fight this crisis together.
Foster: When we started sharing information with experts in our community about the impact of climate on health and the contribution of healthcare to climate impacts, we wanted to see how quickly they would get involved and contribute to solutions. It was amazing to see the dolphins. .
What other benefits are there for more sustainable healthcare?
Gian: Our paper describes how healthcare systems have recovered millions of dollars in savings through waste reduction and recovery efforts. For example, one US hospital system saved more than $3.5 million over four years as a result of implementing reusable gowns. Healthcare institutions in Nova Scotia, Canada, are estimated to save more than $12 million through a policy that holds manufacturers and importers accountable by internalizing the environmental costs associated with waste streams .
Foster: Moving to cleaner fuels and eliminating chemicals of concern from hospital products and equipment will create a healthier environment for patients, families, staff and the communities in which we operate. born.
