“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”
Dr. Tanishka Brahmanand, a Junior Doctor and Sustainability Officer at Austin Health, delivered a thought-provoking seminar during the IHM Seminar Series, passionately advocating for sustainable healthcare practices and planetary health awareness. As a Victorian leadership committee member of Doctors for the Environment Australia, Dr. Brahmanand provided actionable insights into how healthcare professionals can address environmental challenges while maintaining high standards of patient care.
The Environmental Cost of Healthcare
Dr. Brahmanand began her seminar by addressing the alarming carbon footprint of healthcare systems globally. She revealed that the Australian healthcare sector contributes up to an estimated 7% of Australia’s national carbon emissions – comparable to emissions from all vehicles on Australian roads. Globally, healthcare accounts for 4% of emissions, exceeding aviation’s contribution.
She highlighted the waste generated by healthcare practices, such as the staggering amount produced by a single surgery, and emphasized the ecological consequences of pharmaceutical waste contaminating waterways. These inefficiencies not only harm biodiversity but also fail to acknowledge the planetary health principle that we are inherently dependent on the health of the natural systems around us.
“Healthcare is meant to heal, not harm,” Dr. Brahmanand stated, underscoring the paradox of a sector designed to save lives while contributing significantly to ecological destruction.
Low-Value Healthcare: A Systemic Challenge
A key theme of Dr. Brahmanand’s seminar was the prevalence of low- value healthcare practices – activities that are either unnecessary or actively harmful. She noted that research shows across the system, 30% of healthcare interventions can be considered ‘low- value’, and 10% of harm to patients.
Examples included excessive diagnostic testing, overprescription, and invasive procedures that could be avoided. Dr. Brahmanand advocated for evidence-based practices to reduce waste and improve patient outcomes.
“Sixty percent healthcare is high-value care, but thirty percent is low value and ten percent is harmful,” she explained. “We need to shift our focus toward higher-value care.”
Educators as Agents of Change
Dr. Brahmanand emphasized the pivotal role educators play in embedding sustainability into healthcare practices. She called for integrating sustainability principles into medical curricula and training programs across all levels.
Her recommendations included:
- Carbon literacy training: An example of equipping healthcare professionals with foundational knowledge about the science and impacts of climate change.
- Appoint sustainability stewards: Encouraging workplaces to appoint sustainability officers or individually taking the initiative to audit practices and implement changes in your sphere of influence.
- Integrating sustainability principles in health education: Instilling eco-conscious values in students early on to create generational change. Educative resource examples can be found on the Doctors for the Environment website (dea.org.au).
“Generationally, this is how change begins,” she remarked. “We need ripple effects to start very young – even as students.”
Practical Steps for Healthcare Professionals
Dr. Brahmanand provided some actionable strategies for individuals can feel empowered to utilise:
1. Preventative care: Encourage patients to utilise government-provided screening services and engage in preventative care where possible.
2. Minimize unnecessary investigations: Healthcare providers and junior doctors should feel empowered to evaluate whether tests or procedures are necessary and how inefficiencies can be optimised.
3. Pharmaceutical stewardship: HCPs should de-prescribe, actively audit, consider opportunities to minimise pharmeceutical waste, and consumers are encouraged to return unused medications to pharmacies to prevent waterway and environmental pollution.
4. Advocate for sustainable treatment options: Providers and consumers should be empowered discuss the sustainability of treatment options; e.g. when clinically appropriate, switching to dry powder inhalers over pressurised metered dose inhalers in asthma care can reduce device emissions by up to an estimated 97%, and clinically benefit to the patient.
5. Reducing travel emissions: Opt for telehealth options when appropriate and active transport options.
“Every small action adds up,” she reminded attendees, stressing collective responsibility in driving systemic change.
A Vision for Sustainable Healthcare
Throughout her seminar, Dr. Brahmanand painted a hopeful picture of what sustainable healthcare could look like – a system where patient health and planetary health are both actively considered. She urged attendees to reflect on their practices and champion initiatives that align with environmental stewardship.
She concluded “Better care for our patients is actually better for the planet” – i.e. low-carbon care is high value care.
Dr. Brahmanand’s insights serve as both a wake-up call and a roadmap for healthcare professionals seeking to balance quality care with ecological responsibility. By adopting sustainable practices and fostering education around these principles, the industry can move toward a future where healing extends beyond patients to encompass the planet itself. Her seminar was not just an exploration of challenges but also a blueprint for solutions, and a testament to her commitment to creating a resilient and environmentally conscious healthcare system.