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Patient initiated follow up as a low carbon alternative for cancer surveillance PROFESSOR KATY BELL Associate Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, MS PHILOMENA COLAGIURI Research Assistant, Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney MR JAKE WILLIAMS PhD candidate and Research Assistant, Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney
Sustainable healthcare Human health relies on the health of the planet, and the WHO has declared that climate change is the biggest health threat facing humanity. 20
The Health Advocate • NOVEMBER 2023
But health-care systems also harm the planet by producing greenhouse gas emissions, waste, and pollution that all contribute to climate change. A growing international movement aims to measure and mitigate the health sector’s own environmental damage and support a transition to low carbon models1. Analyses have revealed that a large share of health care’s climate impact is due to clinical care itself2. There is an urgent need to identify safe and effective ways to decarbonise health care to achieve equivalent or better clinical outcomes at a lower cost to the carbon budget. Identifying such
