8 ways for radiology to improve environmental sustainability

Representatives from 11 radiology societies around the world have issued a call to action to radiology leaders and societies to improve the environmental sustainability of the field.

A team led by Andrea Rockall, MD, of Imperial College London in the U.K., noted that healthcare delivery contributes directly to the climate crisis, through greenhouse gas emissions due to the production and operation of medical equipment, the generation of medical and nonmedical waste, and contamination of water supplies. The paper was published February 26 in Radiology.

"As healthcare professionals, we can protect our patients by responding to the health effects of climate change and other environmental exposures and signal the importance of an urgent transition to environmentally sustainable imaging practice," the group noted.

The effects of climate change are felt worldwide, but some populations are more vulnerable, the authors explained. This disparity is increased by inequities in healthcare access, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Using these two points as the overarching framework -- that the climate emergency affects the globe, but its impacts are not equally distributed -- the authors listed eight priority actions for the global radiology community:

1. Advocate. The team invited radiological societies and advocacy groups to engage in policy discussions and represent the interests of radiologists in the conversation, with the aim of contributing to the formation of policy that improves sustainability.
   
   
2. Address global disparities. In addition to radiological societies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other governmental bodies must identify and support initiatives and policies that target disparities in access to sustainable radiological care and that benefit vulnerable populations.
   
   
3. Offer climate "literacy" education. Rockall and colleagues urged radiological and professional societies to educate radiologists and radiology students on sustainable practices, with an emphasis on collaboration.
   
   
4. Create and distribute a "toolkit." Make sustainable decision-support tools and training materials accessible not only to radiologists but also across the healthcare continuum.
   
   
5. Conduct research. The group called on radiological societies, funding agencies, society publications, and research institutions to prioritize research on solutions for the environmental impacts of medical imaging and technological advances such as AI, as well as new approaches to sustainability.
   
   
6. Prepare. It's critical that the radiology field develop guidelines for crises caused by the changing climate, the authors noted. They also urged radiological societies to work with disaster-response agencies to identify healthcare vulnerabilities that could result in the disruption of operations due to these kinds of events.
   
   
7. Collaborate with industry. Rockall and colleagues stressed that radiological societies should partner with industry to develop common standards for emissions and waste.
   
   
8. Work with patients. Patients should also be involved in the move toward healthcare sustainability, according to the authors, who suggested radiology societies collaborate with patient advocacy groups to develop sustainable approaches that also maintain patient trust.

"By fostering a culture of global cooperation and rapid sharing of solutions amongst the broader imaging community, we can transform radiological practice to mitigate its environmental impact, adapt and develop resilience to current and future climate and environmental threats, and simultaneously improve access to care," the team concluded.

The article was written in a collaboration that included not only the American College of Radiology (ACR) but also the Asian Oceanian Society of Radiology (AOSR); the African Society of Radiology (ASR); the Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR); the Colegio Interamericano de Radiología (CIR); the European Society of Radiology (ESR); the Egyptian Society of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine (ESRNM); the International Society of Radiology (ISR); the International Society for Strategic Studies in Radiology (IS3R); the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR); and the RSNA.

It can be fully accessed here.