Healthcare industry is a major source of harmful emissions
Climate change presents an unprecedented public health emergency and the global healthcare sector is contributing to the worldwide crisis, argues Jodi Sherman, M.D., associate professor of anesthesiology at the Yale School of Medicine in a commentary published Aug. 2 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
“The healthcare industry is responsible for responding to the many of the most dangerous effects of pollution and climate change, and yet it is a significant source of greenhouse gases and other deadly environmental emissions itself,” said Sherman, who is also an associate professor of epidemiology in environmental health sciences at the Yale School of Public Health. “We must act to reduce waste and prevent pollution — work that is crucial to protecting public health and improving patient safety, which is at the heart of everything we do. ”