Environmental and health impacts of U.S. healthcare system

[Wilms]

1. From the linked paper...

The World Health Organization notes the health sector, itself, can reap gains from rapid and early adoption of mitigation strategies that improve access to renewable energy, through environmentally friendly operational and building solutions[43].

In the U.S., the Healthier Hospitals Initiative (HHI) (http://healthierhospitals.org/) is a national campaign launched in 2012 to improve environmental health and sustainability in the health care sector. The HHI was organized with Health Care Without Harm, Practice Greenhealth, and The Center for Health Design, and offers tools and resources developed from the Green Guide for Healthcare. The HHI already engages 1,200+ U.S. hospitals actively seeking guidance on the transition to more sustainable operations.

The American Hospitals Association also provides a Sustainability Roadmap (http://www.sustainabilityroadmap.org/.) Both offer recommendations to improve the environmental footprint of key areas that reduce both direct on-site and indirect supply chain emissions, including cleaner and more efficient energy use, water conservation, waste reduction, environmentally preferable supply chain management, safer cleaning chemicals, and healthier foods.

The Coalition for Sustainable Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices is seeking to develop manufacturing standards for best practices and reporting transparency, guided by life cycle assessment (http://www.sduhealth.org.uk/areas-of-focus/carbon-hotspots/pharmaceuticals/cspm.aspx).