Imelda Dacones, MD, and Colin Cave, MD, call on physicians to help mitigate climate change and its health effects

Those who work in health care – especially physicians – have a professional responsibility to address climate change and its effects on human health, according to a recent Modern Healthcare opinion piece by Imelda Dacones, MD, president and CEO, Northwest Permanente (NWP), and Colin Cave, MD, NWP’s director of External Affairs, Government Relations, and Community Health.

In “Treat climate change like the public health crisis it is,” Drs. Dacones and Cave underscore the urgency of the climate crisis and note that physicians’ decisions account for 80 cents of every health care dollar spent. “Our choices – including prescribing, device use and the tests we order – can have a real impact on climate change,” write the physician leaders.

The doctors also offer several concrete steps physicians can take to mitigate climate change and its effects on human health, including advocating for health equity, increasing the use of telemedicine, and encouraging environmentally friendly purchasing.

To read the complete column, visit the Modern Healthcare website.