Shared decision-making (SDM) tools can help patients better understand the absolute risks and benefits of different testing and treatment options, and allow patients to decide what is right for them. By empowering patients, I can not only provide better care but also reduce environmental impacts and unnecessary burdens on the system.
Until recently, I had never really considered that testing and treatments have an environmental cost. The burden of overuse is not trivial: up to 30% of all tests and treatments we order are unnecessary and an additional 10% are harmful to our patients. I have realized that if I really want to make a difference to my carbon footprint at work, reducing unnecessary care has a greater impact than recycling clinic waste or powering down my computer.
For many years, I failed to recognize the unique potential I had to make a difference to the environment as a clinician, from within my own practice. However, using a planetary health approach in clinical practice not only allows us to reduce environmental impacts but also offers many co-benefits: better health outcomes, lower costs, decreased workload, and a more resilient and sustainable system.
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