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If you’ve been hospitalized, your current concerns probably don’t include plastic waste, but they probably should. Growing awareness of the relationship between the environment and human health has led some in the American health care system to think that the promise to “do no harm” extends to the natural world.
A surgeon puts a surgical gown into the trash can. (Image credit: Getty Images)
The sector accounts for 10% of US emissions and is one of the nation’s largest producers of waste, with about a quarter of single-use plastic in the form of syringes, test kits, gloves and other equipment. Some healthcare organizations, however, have achieved sustainable success by using automated machines that dispense insulin into syringes instead of using individual vials, collecting unused bed linens to donate instead of throwing away after a patient’s discharge, and installing solar panels.
Below, an infectious disease doctor at Stanford University Desiree LaBeaud and undergraduate student Navami Jain. With Helen Wilmot and Christine Foster – Chief Sustainability Officers at Stanford Health Care And Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, respectively, to discuss single-use medical devices, the need for regulatory change, and other options. Jane and Labeaud recently commented AMA Journal of Ethics, How should US healthcare lead global change in plastic waste disposal? Wilmot by A Roundtable at the White House Last June, the health care industry mitigated climate warming. Foster has presented at several national conferences on the topic of decarbonizing healthcare.
What are some of the most promising solutions to making healthcare more sustainable?
Wilmot: Each health system should establish policies that establish sustainability standards for goods and services — such as greenhouse gas emissions and chemicals of concern — and include contractual language requiring suppliers to report such standards. Furthermore, the industry requires a regulatory environment that is more cost-effective than recyclable materials. At the federal level, the FDA requires suppliers to default to reusable items as needed and requires certifications for single-use items.
Jane: One solution that has attracted a lot of attention is the reusable dresser. Headed by Stanford in 2020 Research It provides evidence of their safety, durability and cost-effectiveness. Many institutions, notably UCLA and UCSF, have used these gowns regularly with success.
What are the biggest obstacles to making US health care more sustainable?
Jane: There is a lack of accountability in both institutional operations and supply chain procurement. In hospitals and other healthcare facilities, sustainability is nowhere near a priority, so no one can be blamed for failing on this count.
Guardian: The lack of product-level sustainability data hinders decision-making taking into account the overall carbon impact. Approximately 77% of the carbon footprint of b Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford It’s because of the supply chain. Our percentage is higher than the industry average because we have reduced or eliminated many other sources of greenhouse gases in our operations.
Wilmot: The health system has several important priorities that compete with sustainability, such as quality initiatives, cost savings, and patient satisfaction. It is difficult to make changes or adjust work processes or change medical products when there are always other pressing issues.
How much of the workers’ or public’s awareness is that it is a matter of switching from disposables to disposables that can be considered less sanitary or safe? How can healthcare organizations overcome these concerns?
Jane: Many reservations stem from uncertainty about quality control strategies for recyclable products. I think we need clear communication to staff and patients about sterilization procedures and research-backed product safety evidence.
Labeaud: I still think awareness is a big part of this. Sustainability and the impact of climate on health should be included in the medical curriculum from the very beginning. To sustainably encourage new ideas, grants and awards can be used to encourage healthcare workers to fight this crisis together.
Guardian: When we started sharing information about the impacts of climate on health and the contribution of healthcare to the climate with professionals in our communities, it was amazing how quickly they connected and wanted to contribute to solutions. .
What other benefits are there to more sustainable health care?
Jane: In our article, we discuss case examples where healthcare systems have recovered millions in savings through waste reduction and recovery efforts. For example, one American hospital system’s implementation of reusable gowns resulted in savings of more than $3.5 million over four years. It has been estimated that health care organizations in Nova Scotia, Canada could save more than $12 million through policies that hold producers and importers accountable for internalizing the environmental costs associated with waste streams.
Guardian: Moving to cleaner fuels and removing chemicals of concern from the products and equipment we use in the hospital creates a healthier environment for our patients, families and staff, as well as the communities in which we operate.
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