ASCRS News: EyeSustain Update
Fall 2024
by Archeta Rajagopalan, BS
Surveys of ophthalmologists around the world have shown a unanimous opinion that waste in our profession needs to be reduced.1 Finding the tools and resources to initiate the changes required for such a reduction in our everyday practices can be challenging. Evidence-based initiatives like EyeSustain (www.eyesustain.org) and My Green Doctor (www.mygreendoctor.org) can help guide ophthalmologists as well as practice leaders toward improving their sustainable methods, such as amending their surgical protocols and instrument choices, sanitizing methods, and medication utilization to address their contribution of waste. In this issue’s EyeSustain Update column, Archeta Rajagopalan, BS, a medical student at the University of Southern California, discusses the environmental impact of healthcare practices and the accelerating effects of climate change. She highlights a global prioritization of environmental sustainability in workplaces, especially medical practices, emphasizing its importance in attracting new doctors and other healthcare providers. She plans to pursue a career in an environmentally friendly medical practice that values sustainability in terms of reduced waste, cost savings, staff satisfaction, and improved community health. Her goal, as with many, is to join a practice committed to sustainability, reflecting a broader trend toward greener healthcare environments.
—Amy Mehta, MD, Guest Editor, EyeSustain Update
Environmental sustainability helps attract the best young talent to your practice
As a medical student, I see profound environmental wastefulness in the clinics where I’ve trained. I also see the impacts of climate change where I live. The seasons were distinct when I grew up; now, we experience deadly summer hot spells, delayed autumns, and warmer winters. It distresses me to see such drastic change in such a short span of time. How much more will it threaten the health of my patients and myself during my decades ahead as a doctor?
The medical field that will employ me in a few years is adding to these problems. Fossil fuels burned to create the energy needed for healthcare creates 8.4% of America’s toxic air pollution and greenhouse gases.2 These carbon emissions from healthcare-related waste are blamed for ~405,000 years of life lost annually from asthma attacks, chronic lung disease, heart attacks, and cancer.2 The climate change caused by the greenhouse gases will mean that thousands more will suffer each year from heat-related illness or death, mental illnesses, and other injuries brought by extreme weather and wildfires.3
Environmental sustainability in the workplace is a priority for people globally. IBM reported in 2021 that two in every three survey respondents declared that environmental issues are “very or extremely important to them personally,” and “69% of the full potential workforce say they’re more likely to accept a job with an organization they consider to be environmentally sustainable.”4 Deloitte reported that 97% of upper-level managers say that they feel the impacts of climate change on their companies.5 Further, 88% think that climate change should be addressed by their companies.5
The use of energy, chemicals, and supplies by outpatient clinics, medical practices, and dental offices is responsible for about a quarter of healthcare’s greenhouse gases.2 For these reasons, I will do my part by choosing an environmentally friendly practice for my career. I will be looking for a practice committed to sustainability and with an ongoing sustainability practice management program. I hope to work with physicians, nurses, office staff, and managers who understand that this is the responsible way to work.
My informal survey of my medical school classmates revealed that many share my sentiments. One student wrote: “Being in hospitals, you are reminded every day of how harmful the practice of medicine can be to the environment. We’ve implemented so many protocols that produce excess waste that ends up being pollutants. I think the idea of taking measures to make office spaces greener means doing our small part to counteract some of the harmful effects that are intrinsic to our daily work.”
The seasons were distinct when I grew up; now, we experience deadly summer hot spells, delayed autumns, and warmer winters. It distresses me to see such drastic change in such a short span of time.
There are direct benefits to medical practices that “go green.” Most will save money as they learn to be less wasteful. One multispecialty group has been saving $1,400 per doctor per year by implementing change.6 Practices benefit from enhanced staff job satisfaction, employee retention, patient approval, and community health outcomes. A part of being a “green” practice is to use teaching tools to share wise choices with colleagues, patients, and families. Lastly, environmental sustainability will give these practices the competitive advantage to attract the best young talent to your practice: smart, compassionate, community-minded doctors.
Several free, money-saving resources are available to practice managers and healthcare professional leaders to make their practices more sustainable. EyeSustain offers resources for the needs of ophthalmologists, but all surgeons and proceduralists can benefit from its advice. EyeSustain is supported by a coalition of more than 40 ophthalmology societies worldwide. The EyeSustain initiative offers a model that other specialties can replicate to reduce waste and create new, climate-minded standards of care. Most of the people involved with EyeSustain are young academicians, practicing ophthalmologists, fellows, residents, or medical students. Our next generation of leaders is already mobilizing to change healthcare.
Another easy-to-use and free resource is My Green Doctor, a medical clinic management program that can help any type of outpatient practice to qualify for the impressive Green Doctor Office Recognition Certificate. Register today at www.MyGreenDoctor.org or at www.MyGreenDoctor.es. The “Three Minute Video” will explain how to get started.
In a few years, I will be seeking an environmentally friendly practice to join. This is one of many reasons for a practice to begin its environmental sustainability journey: to begin saving money, to create a healthier community, and to attract the finest young talent to your healthcare team.
Editors’ note: This essay is adapted with permission from MyGreenDoctor.org, the environmental sustainability practice management program.
About the author
Archeta Rajagopalan, BS
Medical Student
Keck School of Medicine
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
References
- Chang DF, et al. Survey of ESCRS members’ attitudes toward operating room waste. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2023;49:341–347.
- Sack TL. “Green” Offices are Healthier: New Analysis. December 2020. mygreendoctor.org/green-offices-are-healthier-new-analysis. Accessed 1/12/2024.
- Rocque RJ, et al. Health effects of climate change: an overview of systematic reviews. BMJ Open. 2021;11:e046333.
- IBM Corporation. Sustainability at a turning point. May 2021. www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/WLJ7LVP4.
- Deloitte Global. 2022 Deloitte CxO Sustainability Report. 2022. www.deloitte.com/global/en/issues/climate/deloitte-cxo-sustainability-report.html. Accessed 1/12/2024.
- Success Stories: Escambia County Health Department. mygreendoctor.org/profiles. Accessed 1/12/2024.
Contact
Rajagopalan: archetar@usc.edu
