6 responses to “Environmental impacts of clinical practice: reducing unnecessary care”

  1. This is an excellent article. Now we all need to do this!

  2. This is a bright look at the positive role that a physician can play in looking after our patients in all senses (their short term health, their long term health, and their environment which affects the former two).

  3. I find a lot of patients come to me asking for dubious hormone tests that their naturopath wants them to have, to have dubious treatments, which I always refuse.
    Great article and agree with it wholeheartedly.

  4. I would like to thank you very much for the article. Young and “a long time in the field” physicians and health care providers need to be always reinforced and remainder that we are part of a whole and everything implies in responsibility, risk and benefit. Looking for a better world now, and for our children….

  5. Absolutely right on!
    I’m a late career specialist, 40 years in the business, and shocked by the number of inappropriate, unnecessary laboratory investigations that have been done for patients referred to me (while the ones that would actually be of value have not).
    Does anybody really need to be screened for hypothyroidism 5 times in one year?
    Does EVERYBODY, including adolescents, need a comprehensive metabolic panel with every appointment?
    Thank you. I hope a lot of our colleagues will be reading this and taking it to heart.

  6. I totally agree with this article and thank you for highlighting a very important issue. With burgeoning health care costs, all of us- doctors/patients/allied professionals should take medical waste very seriously and work together with awareness. It certainly takes a little more time to collaborate with patients but as you point out informed patients are less likely to ask for more tests and treatments.
    In our office we also work diligently to cut the use of paper, toner, unnecessary PPE and exam roll paper. We use a secure patient portal to communicate results and avoid unnecessary visits.
    I also believe that our medical students and residents should be trained right from the beginning to avoid excessive often unneeded testing,treatments and should be encouraged/guided to have those conversations with patients.
    Thank you again and I look forward to the next in the series.

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