As environmental concerns rise, the healthcare industry faces a conundrum: its goal is to heal, but healthcare contributes to significant environmental harm. Hospitals and medical facilities consume vast amounts of energy, generate substantial waste, and rely heavily on sterile single-use plastics.
Recognizing this contradiction, forward-thinking healthcare providers are embracing sustainable practices to reduce energy consumption, minimize waste, and transition to renewable resources. The biggest challenge lies in maintaining high standards of care while adopting eco-friendly approaches — approaches that require a whole new way of thinking about the way healthcare works from a foundational level.
Balancing Quality Care and Environmental Responsibility
To deliver exceptional care while straddling the line between patient outcomes and sustainability, providers must take a serious look inward at what they can improve. With healthcare contributing 4-5% of global emissions, the time to do so is now. This significant environmental impact stems from various sources: energy-intensive operations, extensive use of single-use materials, and complex supply chains.
Striking this balance is easier said than done – it involves prioritizing quality healthcare as your core goal, integrating sustainability into the DNA of your endeavors, and taking advantage of emerging technologies that promise to help reduce environmental impact, such as AI.
Prioritizing Quality Healthcare
It’s essential to recognize that the industry must prioritize healthcare in any setting; sustainable practices must enhance and not hinder the delivery of safe and effective treatments. For instance, energy-efficient medical equipment can reduce power consumption without sacrificing performance.
Sustainable approaches to healthcare can be used to enhance care while adhering to the Institute of Medicine’s six key healthcare aims: Safe, Effective, Patient-Centered, Timely, Efficient, and Equitable. Mindfully improving your sustainability doesn’t have to compromise the patient’s care, and you can often make meaningful improvements.
Integrating Sustainability into Healthcare Delivery
Responsible environmental stewardship often aligns with effective healthcare delivery. Modern inventions like telemedicine reduce patient travel, cut emissions, and make care more accessible for patients. Electronic health records are another excellent example of streamlining information-sharing while minimizing paper waste.
This synergy between healthcare and sustainability extends further than those relatively simple tips. For example, remote patient monitoring devices allow continuous vital sign tracking without requiring frequent in-person visits. Besides improving patient care, these devices also reduce travel-related emissions.
Healthcare & Environmental Regulation Compliance
Environmental regulations in healthcare are a baseline and not a ceiling for sustainability efforts. Regulations might mandate proper disposal of pharmaceutical waste, but take-back programs can reclaim unwanted medications that may otherwise contaminate water supplies. Healthcare providers should also be aware of environmental laws in the healthcare industry.
These include:
- The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA): Dictates how hazardous materials produced by healthcare facilities are handled and disposed of;
- Clean Water Act: Protects waterways from medical waste, such as sharps, medications, and infectious materials, by requiring facilities to adhere to minimum waste management standards and practices and utilize local medical waste disposal services;
- Clean Air Act: sets standards for air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions – this is more of a concern for hospitals and similar facilities with large energy needs.
These are only a few of the many laws surrounding healthcare and the environment. When devising policy, it might be worth consulting a legal professional.
Innovative Green Practices Across Medical Specialties
Different medical fields present unique challenges and opportunities for sustainability. Each specialty has distinct resource needs and waste profiles, from surgery to dermatology. By homing in on more efficient ways to do things, providers will find they can maintain and even significantly better their care in an eco-conscious way. For instance, orthopedics, dermatology, and AI waste reduction are three major areas to take cues from in the near future.
Eco-Friendly Approaches in Orthopedics
Orthopedic practices can significantly reduce their environmental footprint through thoughtful changes. For example, transitioning to digital imaging reduces chemical waste from traditional X-ray processing. Orthopedic offices can embrace sustainability on a day-to-day basis by shifting to digital over paper records, switching lights to energy-efficient bulbs that slash power usage, and using eco-friendly office supplies to reduce your collective footprint.
AI-Driven Waste Reduction and Resource Management
Artificial intelligence is secretly driving a quiet revolution in healthcare sustainability. In an interview with Neil Sahota, United Nations Artificial Intelligence Advisor, it’s pointed out that waste like almond shells can be repurposed into biodegradable plastics. Powered by AI, this thinking is finding myriad new applications in healthcare.
AI algorithms minimize waste by optimizing operations. A few other examples of AI-powered resource management include machine learning systems refining test results and energy management systems that adjust heating/cooling on the fly.
Practical Steps Towards a Greener Healthcare System
From sprawling hospital complexes to small community clinics and private practices, providers can adopt a wide range of measures to reduce their environmental footprint. These steps range from large-scale infrastructure changes to small, daily habits that make a big impact together.
Some of the most important areas to focus on include promoting better energy efficiency through renewable energy adoption, slashing waste through recycling initiatives, and making small but tangible changes in office operations.
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Adoption
Healthcare facilities consume a staggering amount of power – hospitals, for instance, run 24/7 with constant lighting, cooling, heating, and power for medical equipment. Conducting energy audits and upgrading to energy-efficient HVAC systems can help save money, while rooftop solar panels or wind turbines can offset a portion of a facility’s energy needs. Other options include participating in community solar projects or purchasing renewable energy credits.
Eco-friendly Tips for Medical Offices
Small changes in medical offices can have a huge cumulative impact on sustainability, but only when implemented on an office-wide basis. It’s vital for healthcare providers to not only implement these policies but also incorporate them in their daily lives to set an example for staff.
Consider some of these tips to make your office eco-friendly without skimping on patient care:
- Use low-VOC paints and furnishings in office renovations to minimize toxic fumes;
- Properly maintain HVAC systems according to their recommended maintenance schedule;
- Invest in Energy Star-certified office equipment;
- Install motion-sensor lights in low-traffic areas;
- Use refillable soap and hand sanitizer dispensers.
Reaching sustainability takes a group effort. Make sure to keep your coworkers informed about how they can participate.
Final Thoughts
Along with emission-heavy industries like agriculture and transportation, healthcare needs to update its thinking in light of the rising prominence of sustainability. Opportunities for improvement span across specialties and operational areas, from energy-efficient orthopedic practices to AI-driven waste reduction initiatives and more. Greener healthcare isn’t without its challenges, but healthcare providers can lead the way in healing the planet and their communities by making sustainability a conscious daily effort.
