Creating an Environmentally Sustainable Practice: Benefits for Patients, Practices, and the Planet

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The document discusses the critical need for sustainable practices in healthcare, particularly focusing on endoscopy. The urgency is underscored by the planetary and health crises exacerbated by climate change, highlighting six crossed planetary boundaries and the risk of severe global warming impacts. To address this, the healthcare sector, including clinical care, must reduce its carbon footprint.<br /><br />Dr. Frances Mortimer advocates sustainable clinical principles specifically for endoscopy, which include reducing unnecessary procedures, promoting healthier diets, implementing waste segregation and recycling, and encouraging shared decision-making regarding the use of nitrous oxide.<br /><br />The SusQI framework emphasizes that electronic communication can improve clinical outcomes and reduce the environmental impact by saving significant carbon emissions. Social sustainability is promoted through initiatives like the Green Endoscopy working group, supported by a substantial proportion of staff, which also brings economic benefits by reducing costs.<br /><br />Sonali Palchaudhuri outlines the essential components for implementing sustainable practice, such as effective team leadership, stakeholder buy-in, clear objectives, and resource allocation. The exercise encourages identifying effective changes and the factors contributing to their success or failure.<br /><br />To foster a sustainable culture, strategies like conducting waste audits, setting SMART goals, and applying for grants are recommended. Heiko Pohl discusses measuring sustainable value in care, focusing on environmental, social, and economic aspects. The key principles include adhering to guidelines, considering less invasive tests, and appropriately allocating waste.<br /><br />Conclusively, the document emphasizes applying general principles of change management, engaging with the broader community, and leveraging resources like ASGE task force support to transition towards greener endoscopy practices. Sustainable value is measured by changes in practice, such as reducing unnecessary procedures and enhancing recycling efforts, with the ultimate goal of high-quality, economically, and environmentally sound healthcare.

Keywords

sustainable healthcare

endoscopy

climate change

carbon footprint

waste segregation

Green Endoscopy

SusQI framework

social sustainability

change management

environmental impact