A shocking statistic was revealed at the session on ‘Climate crisis: healthcare’s responsibility for our planet’ at the HIMSS22 European conference on Thursday (16 June).
according to a Report of NGO, Healthcare Without HarmAbout 4.4% of the world’s net greenhouse gas emissions come from the healthcare sector – twice as much as the airline industry. These emissions directly cause global warming.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called climate change “the greatest health risk of the century”. It estimates that climate change will cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year between 2030 and 2050.
Speakers during the session were: Ronald Lavater, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Committee Member, International Hospital Federation, The Geneva Center of Healthcare Leadership for Sustainability, Switzerland; Nancy Jennings, Health Advisor and AMR Lead for the UK Mission to the EU in Brussels, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Belgium; Timo Tyrvainen, Chief Economist, Climate Leadership Coalition, Finland; Dr Brigitte Seroussi, Director in charge of Digital Health Ethics, DNS, French Ministry of Solidarity and Health, France; Isabelle Kumar, former Euronews anchor, carer, disability rights campaigner, president of Autism, Ambition, Avenir, France
Timo Tyrvainen, chief economist at the Climate Leadership Coalition, told delegates at the conference that global temperatures have already risen by 1 degree. Celsius. He outlined some of the ways climate change is impacting global health, including weather-related disasters, food and water shortages, and rising sea levels leading to mass migration. Outdoor air pollution also causes 3.3 million deaths Every year around the world.
“One very simple thing needs to be understood. “Climate doesn’t punish for production – it punishes for emissions,” Tyrven said. “Our job should be to move from dirty production to clean production.”
digital health paradox
Dr Brigitte Seroussi, Director in charge of Digital Health Ethics, DNS, French Solidarity and the Ministry of Health, joined the conference via livestream to explain the ‘paradox of digital health’.
“We know all the benefits of digital health tools and services in terms of patient safety, quality of care, and cost reduction,” said Dr. Seroussi. “But on the other hand, we also know that digital health has an impact on environmental health.”
To work towards the goal of a zero-carbon footprint, the French Ministry of Solidarity and Health has worked on raising awareness among all players in the system, including health care professionals, patients and software providers.
France also created a system to promote eco-design by measuring the sustainability of digital health devices. Will be made available on the country’s digital patient platform. Mon Espace SainteApps must meet a threshold of two ‘Eco Scores’ based on criteria such as energy consumption.
“We have to be actors of solutions,” Dr. Seroussi concluded. “We must all engage to protect our planet and rethink our real needs to develop eco-friendly digital health.”
educating the health workforce
Ronald Lavater, CEO of the International Hospital Federation (IHF), said that during his more than 25-year career in hospital administration, there was no consistency in the mindset of the hospital leader role.
“We didn’t think about climate change,” Lavater added. “We may have a recycling program or solar panels on the roof, but a real look at how hospitals impact climate change, and are contributing to the problem, was not part of the training in school or on the job.”
Healthcare Without Harm produced a global roadmap in 2021 that outlines three ways hospitals can improve.
Steps hospitals can take to reduce their environmental impact include reducing carbon within the facility, decarbonizing the supply chain, and influencing the broader economy in ways such as sourcing sustainable hospital food.
“Hospitals are contributing to climate change,” Lavater said. “At IHF we recognize that climate change is a major issue and moving up the agenda of hospital administrators, so we brought together a key team and formed the Geneva Sustainability Centre.”
The center’s vision is to help hospitals become leaders for sustainability in the community.
“We want to create awareness for the C-suite and empower them to talk to their boards, talk to their employees, talk to their communities, and give them the tools to reduce their carbon footprint,” Lavater said. “
silent epidemic
Along with climate change, healthcare is facing the threat of what has been termed antimicrobial resistance (AMR). ‘Silent epidemic’,
Nancy Jennings, health advisor and AMR lead for the UK Mission to the EU, said the issues of AMR and climate change are linked and need to be treated with a similar approach.
AMR was linked to 1.2 million deaths and was directly responsible for 4.9 million deaths worldwide in 2019, making it the third-leading cause of death after heart disease and stroke.
“Bacteria will evolve to outcompete antibiotics, meaning penicillin, for example, is less effective than it was two, five, 10 or 20 years ago,” Jennings explained.
This problem is primarily caused by intensive farming methods, in which animals are routinely treated with preventive antibiotics as a substitute for veterinary care. These antibiotics then move into the food chain and ecosystem. Another culprit is big pharma, some of whose industrial plants have been found to discharge toxic waste, including antibiotics, into rivers.
So, what can be done about this issue? There are no quick solutions, but Jennings’ final message to health care professionals is to think carefully before prescribing antibiotics and to proactively educate patients about the issue of AMR.
