Energy Star:  The Energy Star program (www.energystar.gov) of the US environmental Protection Agency offers great ideas for saving money in medical offices and facilities by using less electricity.  There is a list of Energy Star-rated energy efficient products (this list should consulted for any appliance purchase), energy saving tips for the home, and valuable money-saving strategies for managing a medical office.

American College of Physicians’ “Climate Change Toolkit”:  The ACP launched in 2017 its “Climate Change Toolkit”  (https://www.acponline.org/advocacy/advocacy-in-action/climate-change-toolkit) . The Toolkit includes ACP policies on climate change, practice management and many related topics.  There are terrific posters, facts sheets, and brochures for the office:

                   “Greening the Health Care Sector” documents – The health care sector uses a massive amount of energy and is responsible for millions of tons of waste a year. These                                 documents provide guidance on how physicians, their colleagues and staffs can take action to curb climate change and make their practices more environmentally sustainable.

 

Document Collection – A single PDF file with the Overview, Talking Points, Patient FACTS, and Greening the Health Care Sector documents.

British Medical Association:   The BMA was the first national medical association to offer ideas to health professional on saving energy and related environmental topics (https://www.bma.org.uk/connecting-doctors/search?q=%22sustainability-health-top-tips%22#serpq=%22sustainability-health-top-tips%22).  Their focus is to encourage professionals to tackle climate change and promote public health. The topics include:

American Medical Association:  AMA’s concise 3-page document, “Lower Costs By Going Green” ( https://mygreendoctor.es/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AMA-Lower-Costs-by-Going-Green-Practice-Management-PDF-Sack-2017-1.pdf ) directs health professionals to My Green Doctor and other great resources for managing medical offices, clinics, and outpatient facilities.

 

Pediatric Environmental Health Tools Kit: The PEHTK  ( https://www.psr.org/blog/resource/pediatric-environmental-health-toolkit/) is an outstanding, practical guide for health professional in offices and clinics.  It brings attention to health hazards related to air, water, food and other products, and it about risks to the whole family including medical office staff, not just children.  User-friendly on any mobile device or computer, the PEHTK is free, concise, and peer-reviewed by experts in the field.

 

Royal College of General Practitioners: College offers now a free service, “Green Impact for Health”. This clear, detailed program guides medical practices towards environmental sustainability. It is a bit complex to use but offers many great ideas and has a useful scoring system with which a healthcare practice or clinic can track its accomplishments: https://www.greenimpact.org.uk/giforhealth/.