The Environmental Impact of Healthcare Systems

Healthcare systems are fundamental for achieving and maintaining good societal health and welfare. It remains as the key factor for economic development and growth of the country as a whole. On the way to expansion and growth, the healthcare sector consumes a considerable amount of resources and energy, producing major streams of emissions and waste, either directly or indirectly through procurement, usage, and disposal of goods and services. All of these are leaving a substantial impact on the environment and as a result of which, it is time the healthcare sector acts sharply to enable a future-efficient, sustainable system of health services and delivery.

Since the healthcare systems today are having a considerable environmental impact, directly or indirectly, minimizing it and leveraging the opportunities of restoring and improving the systems is necessary. This will ideally lead to an environmentally sustainable health system that restores, improves, and maintains the environmental impact while adding to the benefit of the well-being and health of the current and future generations alike. Actions in service delivery, management, resource generation, and funding can greatly contribute to the goal.

The Need to Foster Environmental Sustainability

The Indian healthcare market would increase three-fold in the coming years to reach a whopping Rs 8.6 trillion US$ by 2022. This exponential growth of the industry and its industrial activities would steadily increase and contribute to the environmental health impacting it at a greater level. To sustain and mitigate the effects of healthcare on the environment, the industry has to utilize the opportunities that can help to improve environmental sustainability.

The primary environmental impact comes from the consumption of energy and resources and which is further raising the need for the resources to be utilized properly in the coming years. Improper and overutilization of resources have led to increased production of greenhouse gas emissions and wastes. Use and disposal of toxic chemicals into the environment by health-care facilities during procuring of goods and services has added substantially to the total proportion of the impact. Moreover, since the healthcare systems use a vast amount of energy in the form of heat, electricity, and produce/utilize energy-intensive goods and services, all of this is leading to an increase in the emissions of pollutants and other chemicals that directly impact the public health and the environment.

It is necessary that healthcare industry fosters environmental sustainability that can provide measurable benefits and viable opportunities for health protection and promotion, by the way contributing to cost reduction, improved efficiency, increased community resilience, and reduction of environmental risks. In that sense, environmental sustainability can reduce the damage or harm done to the environment, and help to achieve simultaneous improvements in public and environmental well-being. In the healthcare sphere, fostering environmental sustainability must be both an opportunity and a responsibility.

The Essential Steps to Bring About the Necessary Change

The concept of sustainability is the key to reduce the negative impact of healthcare on the global ecosystem and public wellbeing. Adopting an environmental sustainability policy for all healthcare systems nationwide has to be implemented wisely. Moreover, health systems have to promote efficient management of resources and sustainable procurement of supplies to adequately manage waste/hazardous chemicals and reduce emissions of air pollutants, greenhouse gases, and other chemicals. It is also necessary to promote innovative models of care that would prioritize health promotion and public health services and increase community resilience.

Healthcare products designed with sustainable materials and a low embedded energy can help mitigate and/or reduce the overall negative impact of healthcare on the environment. Healthcare and related companies have to take directed effort in providing supplies/products that lower carbon emissions and other chemical footprints. Pioneering to dive into innovative, safer materials can minimize the potential impact done by large-scale healthcare facilities in terms of water usage, energy, and transportation. Everything from environmentally sustainable infrastructure and ecologically compliant transport systems to procurement of ethically sourced resources can contribute to the efforts of reducing the environmental impact of healthcare.

The current Indian health system needs to revamp its course to compete for the key challenges that exist both internally and externally. The inequitably distributed disease burden, poor sanitation, food insecurity, and environmental degradation are all contributing to the inequities in health outcomes and it is time to strengthen the entire health system in such a way that it becomes sustainable, accessible, and affordable.

This is exactly where the need for the proper regulation of the private sector, increased public spending on health, improved health systems, along with skilled human resources to deal with the existing challenges rises. A good number of well-trained and efficient healthcare professionals can contribute a lot to the growth and development of the industry in a sustainable way. The healthcare professionals should be trained in such a way that they can work in line with the environmental/social/industry needs and also understand the changing trends so as to cater to the vast industry demands. The International Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR) is a premier healthcare management institution in the same direction. IIHMR focuses on national and international health, taking the needed efforts to promote research, strategy development, and innovative training that allows students to be transformed into efficient healthcare professionals for the future. Students at IIHMR are not only taught and trained to meet the industry challenges but also to improve the standard of healthcare in a socially and environmentally sustainable way.