Sustainability plan aims to cut waste in digital healthcare

A new project has shared a plan to make digital healthcare more friendly to the environment. The DiCE project says healthcare needs better ways to design, use, repair, reuse and recycle medical devices.

The project involved 20 groups from nine European countries. It looked at how healthcare devices can be used for longer and how valuable materials can be saved.

Many healthcare devices contain useful materials. These include copper, gold, lithium and rare earth materials. Devices such as blood pressure monitors and glucose meters may be thrown away when they are no longer needed.

The project found that reuse can make a big difference. Reusable ECG lead sets reduced environmental impacts by 81% to 94% compared with disposable ones.

The team also tested ways to collect old healthcare devices. A total of 414 people took part in pilot projects in Belgium, Spain and Slovenia.

More than 60% of the people said they would return unwanted healthcare devices if easy collection systems were available.

The project tested smart GRIN collection boxes. It also looked at returns through pharmacies and the postal system. These systems can help collect old devices and recover useful materials.

The DiCE project also found other ways to cut environmental harm. Digital labels could reduce the climate impact of making medicines by 27%. Powered electronic staplers could lower the climate impact of surgery by 12%.

Redesigning these staplers could also raise material recovery from 51% to 90%.

The project created a Circularity Dashboard to help leaders compare costs and environmental effects. It can also help them test different plans before making decisions.

The report says a greener healthcare system is possible. It calls for better product design and more repair, reuse and recycling.

The project says manufacturers, healthcare providers, governments and patients all have a role to play. Working together could help reduce waste while keeping healthcare safe and useful.