โก Quick Summary
This viewpoint emphasizes the need for sustainable anticoagulation practices to align clinical excellence with climate responsibility. By implementing a systems-level decarbonization strategy, the authors propose significant reductions in healthcare-associated carbon emissions related to anticoagulation management.
๐ Key Details
- ๐ Focus Area: Anticoagulation management
- ๐ฑ Sustainability Goal: Reduce healthcare-associated carbon emissions
- โ๏ธ Methodology: Life cycle assessment
- ๐ Core Strategies: Reduce lab testing, transition to lower-carbon anticoagulants, promote antithrombotic stewardship
- ๐ป Technologies: Telemedicine, AI, mobile apps
- ๐ Inclusivity: Engagement of low-income and middle-income country stakeholders
๐ Key Takeaways
- ๐ Anticoagulation care significantly contributes to carbon emissions in healthcare.
- ๐ Systems-level decarbonization can identify high-impact intervention points.
- ๐ก Digital health technologies are crucial for enabling low-emission, patient-centered care.
- โป๏ธ Circular economy principles should be integrated into therapeutic pathways.
- ๐ Reducing unnecessary lab tests can significantly lower emissions.
- ๐ฑ Transitioning to lower-carbon anticoagulants is essential for sustainability.
- ๐ค Policy levers are needed to incentivize sustainable practices in healthcare.
- ๐ Engagement with diverse stakeholders ensures equitable implementation of climate-resilient care.
๐ Background
The intersection of healthcare and environmental sustainability is increasingly recognized as a critical area for improvement. Anticoagulation management, which includes drug manufacturing, diagnostics, and monitoring, is a significant contributor to healthcare-associated carbon emissions. This viewpoint calls for a multidisciplinary approach to embed sustainability into anticoagulation care, ensuring that clinical excellence does not come at the expense of our planet.
๐๏ธ Study
The authors propose a comprehensive strategy for decarbonizing anticoagulation care, utilizing life cycle assessment methodology to quantify emissions across various components of anticoagulation management. This approach aims to identify key areas where interventions can lead to substantial reductions in carbon footprints.
๐ Results
By implementing core strategies such as reducing unnecessary laboratory testing and transitioning to lower-carbon anticoagulants, healthcare systems can significantly decrease their carbon emissions. The integration of digital health technologies, including telemedicine and AI, is highlighted as a means to facilitate these changes, promoting a more sustainable and patient-centered approach to care.
๐ Impact and Implications
The implications of this viewpoint are profound. By adopting sustainable anticoagulation practices, healthcare providers can not only improve patient outcomes but also contribute to the fight against climate change. This approach fosters a more responsible healthcare system that prioritizes both patient care and environmental stewardship, paving the way for a healthier planet.
๐ฎ Conclusion
The call for sustainable anticoagulation practices represents a significant step towards integrating climate responsibility into healthcare. By leveraging innovative technologies and engaging diverse stakeholders, we can create a more sustainable future for anticoagulation care. The journey towards climate-resilient healthcare is just beginning, and it is essential for all stakeholders to participate in this transformative process.
๐ฌ Your comments
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Sustainable anticoagulation for climate resilient care.
Abstract
This Viewpoint issues a multidisciplinary call to embed sustainability into anticoagulation care, aligning clinical excellence with climate responsibility. Anticoagulation management-including drug manufacturing, laboratory diagnostics, therapeutic monitoring, and long-term follow-up-contributes substantially to health-care-associated carbon emissions. We propose a systems-level decarbonisation strategy, anchored in life cycle assessment methodology, to quantify emissions across anticoagulation care and identify high-impact intervention points. Core strategies include reducing unnecessary laboratory testing, greening laboratory operations through recyclable consumables and energy-efficient infrastructure, transitioning to lower-carbon anticoagulants, and promoting antithrombotic stewardship to reduce dosing errors and drug waste. Digital health technologies, such as telemedicine, artificial intelligence, and mobile apps, are positioned as enablers of low-emission, patient-centred care. Circular economy principles and carbon-informed procurement are integrated into the therapeutic pathway, supported by policy levers that incentivise sustainable practices. Finally, we call for inclusive engagement of low-income and middle-income country stakeholders to ensure equitable, scalable, and context-appropriate implementation of climate-resilient thrombosis care.
Author: [‘Fan BE’, ‘Milla K’, ‘McAlister S’, ‘Ong BJA’, ‘Schulman S’, ‘Arya R’, ‘Okoye H’, ‘Rezende SM’, ‘Lippi G’, ‘Pasalic L’, ‘Wang BH’, ‘Lim MS’, ‘Chee YL’, ‘Zain A’, ‘Tey JSH’, ‘Favaloro EJ’]
Journal: Lancet Haematol
Citation: Fan BE, et al. Sustainable anticoagulation for climate resilient care. Sustainable anticoagulation for climate resilient care. 2025; (unknown volume):(unknown pages). doi: 10.1016/S2352-3026(25)00204-2