Government- and industry-funded campaigns for medication disposal do work, but responsibility often falls on local health care organizations to provide education and services.
AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(10):E971-979. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.971.
Lisa Patel, MD, MESc and Katie E. Lichter, MD, MPH
Health care generates a lot of waste that enters landfills, oceans, and incinerators and adversely affects communities close to waste processing and disposal areas.
AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(10):E980-985. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.980.
Dumping domestic and international health care waste into the earth’s terra firma and oceans undermine global health equity and the health of vulnerable communities.
AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(10):E986-993. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.986.
Public health and climate stabilization historically have competed for public funds, but investment in either good has the potential to advance both goods.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(12):1193-1201. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.12.pfor1-1712.
When the health care industry came under the environmental microscope, the daily work of treating patients was discovered to be highly wasteful of natural and financial resources.
When identifying underrepresented subgroups deserving of special recruitment efforts for research participation, social determinants of health other than race should be given more consideration.