Contents
Climate change is one of the greatest health challenges of the XNUMXst century. WHO, in its report “The Health Argument for Climate Action”, presents recommendations to governments on how to increase the health benefits of combating climate change to avoid the worst health consequences of the climate crisis.
Currently, the carbon footprint in health care is around 4-5%, so it is not insignificant. All the more so, it is worth making efforts to lower it, while providing better health care for patients. Care that will be focused on increasing the benefits for the patient and increasing job satisfaction for healthcare professionals.
Consequences not fully realized
Climate change is not a new phenomenon. They have been around for a very long time, but only in recent years have they been talked about more often, louder and in new contexts. These changes are slow at first and are therefore either overlooked or consciously ignored as of marginal importance. The problem, however, is that once they become very visible, they cannot be stopped. It’s simply too late.
Unfortunately, their health consequences are very serious – ranging from an increase in the incidence of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases to injuries and death as a result of extreme weather events. In addition, there are issues related to the lack of food and water security and the spread of climate-dependent infectious diseases.
General condition of the health service
Even without taking into account the problems provided to health care by climate change, it cannot be said that the health care situation is good. The system is already on the brink of efficiency due to the very dynamically growing number of patients. We live longer and longer, and thanks to the advances in medicine, many diseases that were fatal in the past are being turned into chronic diseases – but all this causes more and more sick people, and the number of employees in health care has not been sufficient for many years to meet all needs. This problem will only get worse. The Medical Futurist Institute estimates that the global lack of 17,4 million healthcare workers is now. This is the number of inhabitants of the Netherlands or Chile, and twice as many as the population of Switzerland or Austria.
With this in mind, all efforts should be made to tackle climate change in order not to “deliver” more patient populations that will put additional strain on the existing system.
Digitization instead of paperwork
The health service has been struggling with the problem of extensive bureaucracy for years. Doctors complain of having to fill a pile of paperwork rather than spending more time on patients. The digitization of administrative work related to patient care is an important step that saves time and climate. However, the condition for its functioning is the mastery of technology.
The second step, after digitization of medical documents, is automation, which should relieve medical personnel from performing repetitive activities and devote more time to the patient and his needs. An important element of automation is machine learning or artificial intelligence algorithms, which are able to carry out analyzes in a few seconds, on which a human would have to spend much more time. At the same time, the human factor in such a case is burdened with a high risk of error, which can be effectively minimized using technology.
An e-prescription is an equally important stage of digitization in healthcare, which has a positive impact on the environment. In Poland, it was introduced in January 2020, and in the first six months of its operation, as many as 207 million electronic prescriptions were issued, which accounted for 90% of all documents issued in this period.
Another innovation that protects the environment is in the field of imaging studies. Traditionally, these tests have been passed on to patients and doctors on CDs, which generates tons of plastic each year around the world. At the same time, a test stored in such a physical form requires transport to be delivered to the doctor, for example, when we want to get a second opinion. In many respects, this solution is not environmentally friendly. However, this can be changed by storing the test results in cloud solutions on the Internet Patient Account, and if necessary, consulting them with a doctor residing in any location in Poland or in the world by sending a link.
Telemedicine instead of stationary visits
In the pandemic, the use of telemedicine, i.e. remote contact between the patient and the doctor, became widespread. Perhaps this is not an innovative concept, as the telephone contact has existed for many years. Currently, however, we have access to much better technology that allows, for example, e-visits in the form of videos. In many cases, they can be a very good alternative to a stationary visit, which requires mobility, often over longer distances, not to mention the time and effort that such a stationary visit requires. For this reason, patients suffering from chronic diseases, especially those living in smaller towns, are often not under regular medical care, which results in poorer treatment outcomes. Telemedicine combined with telemonitoring is a great alternative in this situation.
Moreover, more and more remote diagnostics tools are appearing on the market. If we equip patients with these tools and teach doctors to read the data collected in this way, we can overcome another barrier on the way to the widespread use of telemedicine, because it will be possible to conduct all the basic tests that take place in primary care offices without leaving home.
McKinsey indicates in its report that 25% of outpatient services could be provided in the future with the use of telemedicine solutions. On the other hand, increasing the adoption of these solutions in Poland requires ensuring high-quality telemedicine services provided by the National Health Fund.
Investment in education and prevention
The Internet is currently one of the primary sources of health knowledge for patients. In Poland, 20 million people visit health websites every month. It is worth taking advantage of this trend in order to educate the public about prevention, which in turn will contribute to relieving the health service, reducing the need for stationary visits to medical facilities related to hospitalization or procedures, and thus will contribute to reducing the carbon footprint.
Raising awareness about regular preventive examinations, healthy eating, the role of physical activity and the safe selection of the type of exercise to the body’s abilities, as well as caring for mental health are extremely important pillars on which the health system of an individual and society should be based. Digital solutions, including digital therapies (DTx), contribute to better health care, education and the consolidation of healthier habits and staying fit for longer. Education in this area should take place on many levels, and it should involve all parties involved in health care, including the pharmaceutical industry.
This article originally appeared in the Life Science 2/2022 e-magazine