Environmental sustainability in healthcare systems: role of frugal innovation
- Cyan Brown, fellow in biodesign1,
- Yasser Bhatti, associate professor of strategy and innovation2,
- Matthew Harris, clinical senior lecturer in public health3
- 1Department of Bioengineering, Biodesign, Stanford University, USA
- 2MBS College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Saudi Arabia
- 3Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, UK
- Correspondence to: C Brown c.brown{at}atlanticfellows.org
Greater use of frugal innovation has the potential to provide affordable healthcare with a lower environmental footprint, argue Cyan Brown, Yasser Bhatti, and Matthew Harris
The health sector has an important role in protecting human and planetary health by reducing its environmental impact. Health systems globally are collectively responsible for 4.4% of global net greenhouse gas emissions—equivalent to the emissions from 514 coal fired power plants annually1—which damage health in several ways, including heatwaves and inhalation of pollutants.
High income countries are the main healthcare polluters, with health systems in Australia, Canada, the United States, and Switzerland each contributing over a ton of emissions per capita.2 Collective action has started to address this: over 50 countries have committed to developing climate resilient and low carbon health systems. Two high income countries and 12 low and middle income countries have also committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions on or before 2050, including the UK, Belgium, Malawi, and Sierra Leone.3 Many healthcare workers and patient groups additionally contribute to climate movements in healthcare such as HealthCare Without Harm and EcoMedics. To achieve these commitments and address the complexity of climate change, countries will need multiple strategies for mitigation and adaptation.
One such strategy is frugal innovations, which are designed to do more with fewer resources without compromising patient safety or clinical outcomes (box 1). For example, kangaroo mother care provides premature babies with 24 hour temperature support by using skin-on-skin contact with a parent or caregiver. For stable neonates, this approach removes the need for expensive incubators, run on electricity—an economic cost and environmental saving for the health system. The potential savings from resource-sparing frugal innovations warrant national attention from policy makers, but this will require an enabling policy, research, and business development environment.8 …
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