Public and personal healthcare services incur environmental costs. If health care is to be sustainable, then environmental effects of health care must be minimized. How should health professionals balance obligations of high-quality patient care with environmental protection? Four areas of philosophical exploration suggest an approach to this "balancing" problem: (1) We can optimize the efficacy and sustainability of health care in the long run: Environmentally costly health care will overshoot environmental limits; overly modest health care will undermine public health. (2) Patients can limit demands for costly care if they appreciate their responsibilities to nature and future generations. However, self-interested individuals have a limited capacity to consider distant others. We need to consider what the human capacity is to consider oneself as part of an interconnected ecosystem whole. (3) Philosophical arguments concerning the liberty of individuals need to be connected with perspectives on the functions of society in adapting humans to the natural environment. (4) The developed world has overextended its use of earth's natural resources; however, we can only guess how much time we have to reduce consumption. We must estimate the urgency of attaining sustainable levels of consumption. The more pressing the global situation, the more the ethical balance must limit resources available for patient care. These four considerations will be discussed in part by reference to pertinent case studies regarding the use of natural resources in hospital equipment, supplies, and services.
Learning Objectives: 1. Identify key issues in the "balancing" question regarding environment and patient care 2. Discuss relationships between environmental ethics and clinical ethics
Keywords: Ethics, Environment
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.