In the existing VUCA world fraught with challenges, “Sustainability" has caught the attention of different industries globally, be it automobile, agriculture, chemical, construction, etc. Healthcare is one such industry that requires our immediate attention. There are a couple of reasons for it. Firstly, healthcare and medical sciences are not well-discussed in the context of sustainable initiatives for a better tomorrow. This is probably because this sector gets a slight exemption from following all the sustainable guidelines or operating methods, as human life consideration is paramount. This could have been a valid excuse 50 or 60 years earlier, but doesn’t seem to hold much ground now. Much of the day-to-day operations at a hospital do not think much about the damage they do to human life, to the environment, and ultimately to the larger section of society. This seems ironic; on one side, you are saving lives and on the other, pushing the lives of a greater count into unforeseeable dangers. Now, let’s delve deeper into the sustainability of the healthcare sector.
What is healthcare sustainability?
Sustainability in healthcare involves integrating environmentally responsible, socially equitable, and economically viable practices. This encompasses adopting green infrastructure and energy-efficient technologies, implementing sustainable procurement and supply chain management, promoting patient education on sustainable living, leveraging technology like digital health records, engaging with communities to address healthcare disparities, prioritizing workforce training, supporting research for green practices, and overall, striving to balance social, environmental, and economic considerations.
Therefore, incorporating sustainability provides a clear value-adding proposition through which the industry can minimize its environmental impact, promote public health, and contribute to a more equitable and resilient healthcare system. While the sustainability discussion in healthcare typically revolves around business operations, supply chains, energy-efficient technologies, digitization of health records, and educational initiatives, managing waste generated during treatment and its disposal remains a less discussed yet critical component.
The different areas of concern for sustainability in healthcare can be broadly categorized as environmental, social, and economic dimensions. An abstract from "Measure of Sustainability in Healthcare" puts it quite precisely.1
1. Environmental
2. Economic
3. Social
As big companies and global institutions are all about making healthcare more sustainable, we’ve got to tackle the waste issue head-on if we want a healthcare system that’s truly strong and eco-friendly. The trash we produce in healthcare, especially the dangerous stuff, can mess up both people and the planet because of how it’s made. Check this out: around 16 million shots are given worldwide, but not everyone’s doing the right thing with the needles and syringes after. Burning healthcare waste can let out nasty toxins like dioxins, furans, and other bad particles. The amount of waste we’re making has shot up since COVID-19 hit. WHO says there are different types of trash – infectious, pathological, sharps, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cytotoxic, radioactive, and non-dangerous kind. And guess who’s contributing the most? Hospitals, labs, research places, morgues, places that deal with animals, blood banks, nursing homes – they’re all in on it. WHO’s got the stats, too. Rich countries make about 0.5 kg of dangerous waste for every hospital bed every day, while poorer ones make around 0.2 kg. That’s the deal.2
Biomedical waste before, after, and during COVID-19 in India:
The investigation examined by Wasim Ayub Bagwan, the daily fluctuations in BMW (biomedical waste) generation between 2020 and 2021 on a national scale.3 The results revealed a notable decrease of –50.35 % in daily BMW generation. In the specific case of Maharashtra state, a change detection analysis for pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 pandemic periods indicated an initial increase of approximately 32%. However, in 2021, there was a reversal in the trend, demonstrating a -2.23% reduction in daily BMW generation compared to 2020. These findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a discernible impact on biomedical waste generation.4
Although the various characteristics have varying effects on the healthcare sector, there is some correlation between them. For example, the economic dimension impacts the social and environmental dimensions, and vice versa. As a result, we must address each dimension separately and concurrently. As a result, it’s time for us to start making the correct choices, i.e., our decisions should align with practices that promote sustainability across several dimensions, ultimately leading to a "healthy tomorrow."
1 Mehra, R., & Sharma, M. K. (2021, January 1). Measures of Sustainability in Healthcare. Sustainability Analytics and Modeling. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.samod.2021.100001
2 Mol, M. P. G., Zolnikov, T. R., Neves, A. C., Santos, G. R. D., Tolentino, J. L. L., De Vasconcelos Barros, R. T., & Heller, L. (2022, April 1). Healthcare waste generation in hospitals per continent: a systematic review. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19995-1
3 Bagwan, W. A. (2023, April 28). An investigation of the bio-medical waste produced in India during the COVID-19 pandemic and Maharashtra state (pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19) analysis: a GIS-based approach. Research in Health Services & Regions. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43999-023-00023-9
4 Health-care waste. (2018, February 8). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/health-care-waste