The carbon footprint of healthcare has been estimated to be 4 to 5% of the worldwide total. To put this number into perspective, if “healthcare” was a country, it would be the fifth largest emitter in the world, coming in just behind China, the United States, India, and Russia. Today we face pressing global issues like climate change and an energy crisis, that impact our health and wellbeing. It becomes crucial then, that the healthcare industry not only takes responsibility for health, but also actively works towards reducing the impact of the environment on people’s health – especially by reducing emissions and consumption of resources.

In this episode, Shikha Pillai, Global Head of Sustainability at Siemens Healthineers, is joined by Dr. Elmar Merkle, Head of the Department of Radiology and Chief Physician for Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at the University Hospital Basel in Switzerland; as well as Dr. Christopher Hess, Chair of the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the University of California San Francisco; and Dr. Clemens Juettner, Chief Sustainability Officer at Sana Kliniken in Munich. These experts in radiology and sustainability are talking about what the sector is doing to implement consumption-reducing measures that can lead to not only operational efficiency, but also contribute significantly to our sustainable future.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• For hospitals around the globe, the perpetual “idling” state of imagining machines contributes to the huge carbon footprint of radiology departments.

• On a global average, one hospital bed consumes the same amount of energy as four family homes annually.

• Major strides have been made toward more energy efficient imaging machines, but the most pressing issue is encouraging their use by the medical community.

• The production and delivery of imaging equipment can have massive environmental repercussions.

• It’s not just carbon footprint that can be reduced by greener radiology practices: cost is also a crucial factor.

Connect with Shikha Pillai

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Connect with Clemens Juettner

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Connect with Christopher Hess

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Connect with Elmar Merkle

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EP#1 | VSauce3's Jake Roper