May 22, 2024

Mitigating the impact

34 minutes

Judith Singleton talks about what pharmacists, and pharmacies, can do to reduce their impact on the environment, and reduce the impact of pharmaceuticals

In this episode of the AJP podcast, Dr Judith Singleton, from the School of Clinical Sciences, QUT, talks to host, Carlene McMaugh, about improving sustainability in the health care system and reducing the carbon footprint of health care.

Among the topics covered are:

The huge footprint of pharmaceuticals on our environment, accounting for around 17-19% of health care’s total carbon footprint, with Australia ranking poorly in major international studies (01:10).

What are the major reasons for the footprint being so large? How is the overall system failing? And what can we do to improve distribution systems and reduce waste? (04:30)

What can pharmacies do to improve their own footprint? (07:30)

Educating patients and pharmacy staff on use of RUM (10:30)

What pharmacists are doing wrong (13:00)

Climate change and its impact on pharmacists and on patients (16:30)

Suggestions for changes that can impact the environment, including questioning manufacturers about disposal of blister strips and looking at your own footprint (20:20)

Key messages and recommendations (27:30)

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Carlene McMaugh

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By Australian Journal of Pharmacy