Future Healthcare Needs – Effects of the U.S. Healthcare System on the Natural Environment

Future Healthcare Needs – Effects of the U.S. Healthcare System on the Natural Environment

With its dedication to promoting and ensuring the good health of human beings, the healthcare industry is unaware of the consequences it poses on the environment. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions and overall pollution to the environment, the U.S. healthcare system is the leading culprit and poses a pressing problem to public health as well as ecological fragility. Therefore, this contradiction leads to the necessity of a critical analysis of current policies and a decisive policy to minimize the negative impact of healthcare activities on our environment.

The Scale of the Issue

The healthcare sector accounts for approximately 8.5% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, a substantial figure highlighting the problem’s magnitude (Eckelman & Sherman, 2016). In this regard, the largest environmental impact of hospitals can be attributed to the following factors: high energy consumption, medical supplies and personnel transport, and medical waste production and disposal. Furthermore, the use of single-use plastics in the healthcare industry and the generation of toxic waste contribute to the environmental load (Malik et al., 2021).

People or Groups of People the Issue Impacts

Environmental consequences of the health care system, which are long-term and disturbing to human health and well-being, particularly those who are susceptible to illness as a result, will be felt by vulnerable populations. Through air pollution and climate change, health hazards like respiratory diseases and cardiovascular problems resulting from healthcare-driven activities were found (Watts et al., 2018). This group mainly comprises children whose bodies are in the developmental phase and are subjected to the risk of respiratory diseases, impairment of brain function, and NCD. Further, the elderly are extremely susceptible to air pollution, climate change impacts such as heat waves, and aggravation of the existing conditions. Furthermore, individuals suffering from the aforementioned conditions, namely asthma and cardiovascular disease, are also very vulnerable.

Additionally, the consequences of the health sector’s environmental footprint go beyond direct health effects. The most devastating consequences of climate change and environmental pollution are public health risks and the impact on food and water security, economic stability, and social cohesion (Watts et al., 2021).

Policy Responses at the State and Federal Levels

Understanding the seriousness of the effect of the U.S. healthcare systems, measures have been taken locally and from the federal side to decrease the negative impact on the atmosphere. At the state level, several existing programs on energy efficiency and the motivation of health organizations to follow sustainable practices appear in some states. However, this situation is rather patchy and underfunded; therefore, a major task in the long run to establish relevant and stable policies is the challenge.

In the federal act, the Agency for Environmental Protection (EPA) has devised tactics and programs that enable health facilities to minimize their ecological footprint. Efforts of this kind include the Energy Star efforts that put more emphasis on the energy efficiency of healthcare institutions and the chemistries aimed at safer chemicals and minimizing wastage. However, the process and realization are usually non-compulsory; hence, progress is generally hindered by the non-access to implementing legislation and codes that are mostly incomprehensive and limited.

The Need for Comprehensive Policy Reform

As significant as these programs designed by the EPA to address the problem caused by the U.S. healthcare system on the natural environment are, they are definitely not the panacea for the hugeness of the challenge. For the realization of a green and safe public healthcare sector, policymaking should be made at the national level and also at the federal level of governance. At the state level, a few additional policies that could be enforced include making healthcare facility designs mandatory to have energy-efficient standards, encouraging the installation of renewable energy sources, and providing regulations for the disposal of medical waste. Moreover, at the state level, sustainability principles should be wisely referred to in medical educational and training programs so as to develop an acute awareness of environmental sustainability among the health workforce.

The necessity of a federal law at the highest level of the governing power that will pave the way for the establishment of procedures directed at the decrease of the carbon footprint of healthcare facilities, waste reduction, and shift to green operations is beyond the description. It is possible that such regulations may necessitate the application of renewable energy technologies so they can emit less or zero pollutants and reduce the amount of waste that is generated while also providing financial incentives for healthcare organizations that comply with the sustainability requirements or go beyond them.

Besides that, the priorities of governmental policy should include innovation, that is, sustainable health research, so that advanced technology supports the building design, devices, and other medical products that are energy efficient, as well as environmentally friendly packaging and waste management.

Scholarly Support for Policy Reform

Irrefutably, the significance of preventing the degradation that results from the healthcare system by the body of literature that is developing is acknowledged as the issue has become a new fad. In the last couple of years, a study has been published in The Lancet Planetary Health on the need for green transition in the health sector, stressing that it can result in lower expenditures and the population improving their health (Lenzen et al., 2021). It is stated that replacing standard healthcare practices to be more environmentally sustainable will be a suitable tactic for reducing emissions, improving air quality, decreasing water usage, improving public health, and improving health.

In another study recently published in the Cleaner Production Journal by Malik et al. (2021), the healthcare sector was found to enjoy economic advantages from sustainable practices, which involve trimming costs through the implementation of energy efficiency measures and reduction of waste. The paper points out that legislators need to ensure that the same sustainability aspect is considered in the health sector since the sector relies largely on these economic factors and the range of health benefits that may be derived.

As a result, the American Public Health Association (APHA)  has issued its policy statement on the implementation of eco-friendly health services delivery and policymaking. With this description, the importance of the link between the quality of human health and environmental health is revealed so that health practitioners and policymakers consider the environment as the center of all actions and deliberately create environmentally friendly policies that will promote environmental stewardship.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the environmental impact of the U.S. healthcare system represents a paradoxical threat to public health and ecological sustainability. The greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution, as major effects of today’s healthcare practices, no doubt cause dilemmas for the system itself that aims to improve the well-being of people. This problem can be solved only through wider policy action at the regional and federal levels, comprising mandatory standards for energy efficiency, strict regulations for waste management, incentives for ‘green’ approaches, and sustainability concepts training and education to healthcare personnel. Such healthcare policy giving prominence to environmental sustainability will not only ensure that public health and the adverse effects of climate change are sustained. There will also be more chances of financial and social stabilization. The time for action is now because the price of inaction will be paid by future generations and the earth itself.

References

Eckelman, M. J., & Sherman, J. (2016). Environmental impacts of the U.S. health care system and effects on public health. PLOS ONE, 11(6), e0157014. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0157014

Lenzen, M., Malik, A., Li, M., Connelly, A., Graves, J., Rosales-Rueda, M., & Ivanova, D. (2020). The environmental footprint of health-care: Evidence from the UK nationally representative Time Use Survey. The Lancet Planetary Health, 4(6), e262-e274. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30121-2

Malik, A., Camm, C., Lenzen, M., & McMeekin, A. (2021). Environmental and economic potentials for sustainability in the healthcare industry: Evidence from England. Journal of Cleaner Production, 290, 125724. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125724

Watts, N., Amann, M., Arnell, N., Ayeb-Karlsson, S., Belesova, K., Berry, H., Bouley, T., Boykoff, M., Byass, P., Cai, W., Campbell-Lendrum, D., Chambers, J., Dang, P. Q., Dasgupta, P., Dasgupta, S., Davies, M., Dennis, R., Depoux, A., Diouf, A., … Costello, A. (2021). The 2020 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: Responding to converging crises. The Lancet, 397(10269), 129-170. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32290-X

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You are currently an outpatient clinic manager. You’ve been asked to serve on an outreach committee tasked with identifying the future healthcare needs of your community and developing a strategic plan focused on the organization’s response to those needs.

Future Healthcare Needs – Effects of the U.S. Healthcare System on the Natural Environment

Preparation
Research and select an issue from one of the following categories that have or may influence U.S. healthcare policies:

Changing social norms at the state level
Shifting healthcare priorities in the U.S.
Impacts of global health care on U.S. policy
Effects of the U.S. healthcare system on the natural environment

Write a 3 to 5-minute elevator speech in which you argue your position on the impact the selected issue may have on future healthcare policy. In your elevator speech:

Describe the selected issue.
Identify people or groups of people the issue impacts.
Describe the impact the issue has at the state and federal level.
Describe whether the issue will or should change health care policy.
Defend your position with scholarly literature.
Cite at least 2 scholarly sources to support your elevator speech