Surgeons at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon, are confronting their environmental impact head-on through a pioneering program called OneView, Medscape Medical News reported....CONTINUE.THE.FULL.READING OF THE ARTICLE>>>
Developed in-house, this initiative reveals the carbon emissions generated by individual surgeons during procedures, aiming to address the environmental toll of healthcare, particularly within the operating suite.
Displayed on the program’s dashboard in an easily digestible format, surgeons can track their operating room (OR)-related emissions for each procedure, benchmark themselves against peers, and engage in side-by-side comparisons, Medscape reported.
Through surgical preference cards, detailing necessary supplies for specific procedures, the program calculates emissions based on the manufacturing process and energy consumption associated with the surgery.
Jodi Sherman, MD, anesthesiologist and clinical sustainability expert at Yale, noted that only 7% of healthcare emissions result from on-site activities, with the majority stemming from indirect sources like electricity consumption and the production and transportation of supplies.
By utilizing OneView, surgeons gain visibility into their carbon footprint and can make informed decisions to reduce waste. The software employs a machine learning algorithm that projects emission and cost changes based on adjustments to the preference card.
Additionally, surgeons will soon receive weekly newsletters detailing their greenhouse gas reductions and cost savings, Medscape reported.
The impact of the OneView project is already evident in a pilot at Providence’s main OR in Portland, where it reduced the greenhouse gas footprint by 850 metric tons of carbon annually.
The program is expected to save the hospital system between $6 and $9 million annually in Oregon alone. Providence aims to be carbon neutral by 2030.
While the program is off to a promising start, experts suggest that future iterations should integrate patient demographic and outcome data to enhance value. The ultimate goal, according to Dave Wilson, senior process engineer at Providence, is to ensure surgeons have everything they need when they need it— nothing more, nothing less.
