Post by ERM

In healthcare, the biggest emissions aren't where most people are looking. We tend to ask: "What's the footprint of this product?" The more powerful question is: "What's the footprint of delivering this care?" That shift, from the product to the patient care pathway, is where real decarbonization happens. The emissions tied to care (diagnostics, hospital stays, devices, patient travel, preventable complications) often far outweigh those of the products themselves. For more than 15 years, ERM has helped health systems, pharma, and coalitions see the full picture of care. Our latest piece breaks down why Care Pathway Assessments are fast becoming one of the most practical, evidence-based tools to future-proof healthcare: - Optimizing an existing pathway to understand its environmental impact and hotspots: e.g. uncovering the climate, water, and waste hotspots of anastomotic leak treatment. - Evaluating new or alternative pathways: e.g. outpatient antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) shown to have lower impact than inpatient care.  - Proving prevention pays: e.g. a study found a Smartinhaler cut a year of treatment's footprint through avoided hospital admissions. The bottom line: decarbonization and margin move in the same direction. The organizations that win the net-zero healthcare transition will be those that can prove, with evidence, that better care and lower emissions are the same decision. That proof needs a credible, shared method, and that's exactly what we have spent years building. As proud authors of the Sustainable Healthcare Coalition’s care pathway assessment method, we're now collaborating with the SHC and the newly launched Patient Care Pathways Consortium to put it to work across health systems worldwide. As SHC puts it: “systemic change is only possible when we bridge the gap between technical expertise and clinical delivery. ERM’s involvement in our PCP Consortium and their broader membership in the SMI exemplify the collaborative spirit needed to accelerate the path to a Net Zero healthcare future worldwide.” The question isn't whether to act; it's whether you'll lead the transition or be shaped by it. Read Blog 3 of our Decarbonize Your Supply Chain. Deliver Measurable Impact series: https://lnkd.in/gSj-RuMB Michael Collins | Maria Dall | Dáire Archbold | Jon Hughes | Olaf Schatteman | Catherine (Katie) Osborn | Saori Galley | Simon Aumônier | Francesca Furlan #SustainableHealthcare #Decarbonization #Pharma #PatientCare