Hospitals could see substantial savings by instituting environmentally-friendly practices in operating rooms, says a study published in the February issue of Archives of Surgery.
The study's authors say healthcare facilities are the second leading contributor of waste in the United States, producing 4 billion pounds annually – 6,600 tons every day. Seventy percent of hospital waste comes from labor delivery and the operating room.
Conducted by Gifty Kwakye, MD, MPH, Gabriel Brat, MD, MPH, and Martin Makary, MD, MPH, all of Johns Hopkins University, the study blended a literature search from medical publications published between Jan. 1, 1980 and Dec. 31, 2008, with advice from a panel of seven medical green practices experts.
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“As physicians, we share a common desire to deliver the highest possible quality care to our patients directly and indirectly," the suthors said. "This goal should guide our efforts as we seek ways to improve public health and sustainability through green initiatives.”
The study focuses on operating room waste reduction and segregation, reprocessing of single-use medical devices, environmentally-preferable purchasing, energy consumption management and pharmaceutical waste management.
According to the authors, small changes can lead to significant cost reductions. For instance, using re-usable sharps containers instead of disposable ones at a 1,000-bed hospital could save $175,000 per year and reduce waste by 34,000 pounds.
The study’s authors cited examples of medical facilities already using some green strategies. Among them:
- One hospital saved $60,000 a year by switching to re-usable surgical gowns.
- Ascent Healthcare Solutions saved more than $138 million and diverted 4.3 million pounds of medical waste from the nation’s landfills by using reprocessed single-use devices.
- New York-Presbyterian Hospital replaced older lighting, air conditioning, water chilling and pumping systems with newer, more efficient models, resulting in an expected savings of $1.77 million a year.
The study’s authors said additional research is needed to learn how surgical care affects the environment.