Previous Works by Urvashi Bhatnagar and Paul Anastas
The workshop on Environmental Sustainability in Clinical Care (2018)
This workshop held at the Yale School of Public brought together experts in engineering, sustainability science, clinical care and health systems management to tackle the issue of resource consumption and environmental emissions associated with medicine and health care services.
Participants:
Paul Anastas, MA, PhD, Director of the Yale Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering, Professor, Schools of Engineering, Public Health, and Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, USA
Urvashi Bhatnagar, DPT, MBA, Yale School of Management, USA
Hosts:
Yale School of Medicine
NYU Langone Health
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
Yale School of Public Health
Additional Information: https://publichealth.yale.edu/climate/research/conferences/copy_of_index/
Reducing Pollution from the Healthcare Industry (2019)
Sherman JD, MacNeill A, Thiel C. Reducing Pollution From the Health Care Industry [published online ahead of print, 2019 Aug 2]. JAMA. 2019;10.1001/jama.2019.10823. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.10823
Contributors:
Urvashi Bhatnagar
Paul Anastas
Pollution is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, and was associated with an estimated 9 million premature deaths globally in 2015 or 16% of all deaths. 1 Most environmentally mediated deaths are linked to air pollution, 1 with many health experts believing climate change is the leading public health issue of the 21st century. Major disruptions to food production, water supplies, and coastal livability are predicted unless significant action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. 2 Ironically, modern health care is a major contributor to pollution that adversely affects human health. 3-6 It is estimated that the health sectors of the United States, 3 Australia, 4 England, 5 and Canada 6 emit a combined 748 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents annually. If the health sectors of these countries were an independent nation, they would rank seventh in the world for GHG emissions. 7
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2747470
The Green Print: Advancement of Environmental Sustainability in Healthcare (2020)
Healthcare is a major emitter of environmental pollutants that adversely affect health. Within the healthcare community, awareness of these effects is low, and recognition of the duty to address them is only beginning to gain traction. Healthcare sustainability science explores dimensions of resource consumption and environmental emissions associated with healthcare activities. This emerging field provides tools and metrics to quantify the unintended consequences of healthcare delivery and evaluate effective approaches that improve patient safety while protecting public health. This narrative review describes the scope of healthcare sustainability research, identifies knowledge gaps, introduces a framework for applications of existing research methods and tools to the healthcare context, and establishes research priorities to improve the environmental performance of healthcare services. The framework was developed through review of the current state of healthcare sustainability science and expert consensus by the Working Group for Environmental Sustainability in Clinical Care. Key recommendations include: development of a comprehensive life cycle inventory database for medical devices and drugs; application of standardized sustainability performance metrics at the clinician, hospital/health system, and national levels; revision of infection control standards driving non-evidence-based uptake of single-use disposable devices; call for increased federal research funding; and formation of a Global Commission on the Advancement of Environmental Sustainability in Healthcare. There is an urgent need for research that informs policy and practice to address the public health crisis arising from healthcare pollution. A transformational vision is required to align research priorities to achieve a sustainable healthcare system that advances quality, safety and value.
DOI10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104882
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S092134492030197X
AUTHORS:
Jodi D. Sherman; Cassandra Thiel; Andrea MacNeill; Matthew J. Eckelman; Robert Dubrow; Harriet Hopf; Robert Lagasse; Joseph Bialowitz; Anthony Costello; McGain Forbes; Rachel Stancliffe; Paul Anastas; Laura Anderko; Mark Baratz; Stefi Barna; Urvashi Bhatnagar; Jason Burnham; Yizhen Cai; Andy Cassels-Brown; Alexander F.P. Cimprich; Heidi Cole; Lorea Coronado-Garcia; Brett Duane; Gabriella Grisotti; Arthy Hartwell; Varshini Kumar; Ann Kurth; Michael Leapman; Daniel S. Morris; Michael Overcash; Abhijeet G. Parvatker; David Pencheon; Adam Pollard; Bernard Robaire; Karl Rockne; Blair L. Sadler; Beth Schenk; Tushar Sethi; L. Scott Sussman; Jeff Thompson; Janet M. Twomey; Sten H. Vermund; Daniel Vukelich; Natasha Wasim; Debbie Wilson; Steven B. Young; Julie Zimmerman; Melissa M. Bilec