No one\u2019s dissing the importance of\nenvironmental sustainability or denying that global climate change isn\u2019t\nhappening with every breath we take \u2013 or have difficulty taking! We don\u2019t\nbelieve climate change is a hoax and we do believe that every human being should\ndo their part to protect planet Earth. As the saying goes: There is no planet\nB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What we\u2019re not sure about, though,\nis the role physicians \u2013 as a professional collective and not as individual\nhuman beings \u2013 should play in protecting Mother Nature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s use both sides of the\nstethoscope to listen in on the scuttlebutt. (For the record, medgoo is sitting\non the proverbial fence. But then it\u2019s not our job to diagnose \u2013 only present\nthe symptoms.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Treatment For Environmental Sustainability and Global Climate Change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The American Medical Association (AMA), our nation\u2019s premier physician organization, brought together physicians, medical students, and residents representing all 50 states and every medical field during its November 14 through 19 Interim Meeting. As part of the meeting\u2019s agenda, the AMA House of Delegates voted to adopt several new policies aimed at improving the health of our nation. Starring on its list of statements was support for efforts to promote environmental sustainability and halt global climate change.1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n As far back as 2016, the AMA has taken the position that it\u2019s no longer an option to stand still and watch climate change continue to affect public health across the world. Past and present policy statements promise to assist physicians in adopting environmentally-sustainable programs in their practices, boldly encourage physicians to assist in educating patients and their community on environmentally sustainable practices, and urge the medical community to serve as role models for promoting environmental sustainability.2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cScientific surveys have shown clear evidence that our\npatients are facing adverse health effects associated with climate change,\u201d\nemphasizes AMA Board Member Willarda V. Edwards, MD. \u201cFrom heat-related\ninjuries and forest fire air pollution, to worsening seasonal allergies and\nstorm-related illness and injuries, it is important that we make every effort\nto put environmentally friendly practices in place to lessen the harmful impact\nthat climate change is having on patient health across the globe.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Preceding and certainly in sync with the AMA\u2019s policy statement is The Call to Action on Climate Health and Equity<\/em>, released in June 2019 and citing health threats posed by climate change as \u201ca true public health emergency.\u201d The statement is a cumulative effort from more than 70 major medical groups in the US, including the National Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, and American Public Health Association.3, 4<\/sup> Although the statement\u2019s language leans toward proverbial legalese, there are moments when the physician\u2019s role in corralling global warming seems implied. For instance, \u201cProactive support is required to\u2026effectively communicate the health threats of climate change together with the health benefits of climate action.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, But \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n No physicians to our knowledge say that our planet’s climate crisis isn\u2019t a serious threat to human health \u2013 including increased respiratory and cardiovascular disease, injuries and premature deaths related to extreme weather events, changes in the prevalence and geographical distribution of food- and water-borne illnesses and other infectious diseases, and threats to mental health.5<\/sup> Going a step further, some of the country\u2019s greatest leaders in the eco-friendly space are in healthcare, making a difference from their clinics, specialty practices, urgent care facilities, and hospitals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The question, however, is whether or not the medical\ncommunity has a responsibility to specifically educate the public \u2013 aka their\npatients \u2013 about climate change health threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are several current thoughts rumbling around out\nthere as to why a physician might not want to discuss global warming and\nclimate change with patients. We\u2019re not saying these arguments hold water;\nwe\u2019re sharing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Physicians don\u2019t have time for climate change education. A 2018 survey by the Physicians Foundation reports that doctors on average work 51 hours a week and see 20 patients a day, with almost a quarter of their time taken up with nonclinical paperwork.6 <\/sup>Research published in BMJ Open puts the average physician appointment in the U.S. at about 20 minutes.7<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Some doctors express concern about\nbringing up a topic laced with political implications. After all, the exam room\nis supposed to be a safe place. Are controversial political issues best left in\nthe waiting room?<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are no guidelines for educating patients. In fact, most medical doctors are self-taught in terms of climate change and how it\u2019s creating unprecedented health risks. We know this because a 2018 study, published in Academic Medicine, found that only 20 out of 140 U.S. medical schools even offer classes about environmental health or global warming.8 <\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a complicated topic that doesn\u2019t come with definitive do\u2019s and don\u2019ts \u2013 like do wear a seatbelt and don\u2019t text and drive. Some might say that the topic\u2019s complexity circles back to a lack of time with each patient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, where do you stand? Is it the physician\u2019s responsibility to educate patients about how the current climate crisis can and will affect their health? Are doctors duty bound to teach patients what they can do to help stop, stall, or possibly reverse climate change? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Resources<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. American Medical Asssociation. (2019). Global Climate Change and Human Health H-135.938. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. AMA adopts new policies to improve health of nation. (2016, November 15).<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. https:\/\/climatehealthaction.org\/cta\/climate-health-equity-policy\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. How climate change threatens public health \u00b7 The Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health (MSCCH). (2019, August 19).<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Climate Change and Public Health – Climate Effects on Health. (2019, September 9)<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 6. Weber, D. O. (n.d.). How Many Patients Can a Primary Care Physician Treat?<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. Irving G, Neves AL, Dambha-Miller H<\/a>, et al<\/a><\/em> International variations in primary care physician consultation time: a systematic review of 67 countries <\/a>BMJ Open <\/a><\/em>2017;<\/a>7:<\/a><\/strong>e017902. doi: 10.1136\/bmjopen-2017-017902 <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 8. It’s Time for Medical Schools to Introduce Climate Change Into Their Curricula. Wellbery, Caroline MD, PhD; Sheffield, Perry MD, MPH; Timmireddy, Kavya; Sarfaty, Mona MD, MPH; Teherani, Arianne PhD; Fallar, Robert PhD; [Miscellaneous Article] <\/a>Academic Medicine. <\/a><\/em>93(12):1774-1777, December 2018.<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" No one\u2019s dissing the importance of environmental sustainability or denying that global climate change isn\u2019t happening with every breath we take \u2013 or have difficulty taking! We don\u2019t believe climate change is a hoax and we do believe that every human being should do their part to protect planet Earth. As the saying goes: There […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medgoo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medgoo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medgoo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medgoo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medgoo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/medgoo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27969\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medgoo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medgoo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medgoo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}