Florida-based Jackson Health System projects a 47% reduction in carbon emissions from patient monitors using Philips’ latest monitoring platform.

Jackson Health is one of the largest public health systems in the USA. It has announced the results of a collaborative life-cycle assessment (LCA), measuring the sustainability impact of transitioning to Philips’ latest monitoring products. The study was conducted at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Jackson North Medical Center and Jackson South Medical Center in Miami-Dade County in Florida.

The Philips patient monitors, deployed as an enterprise monitoring-as-a-service (EMaaS) business model, can help reduce carbon emissions by 685.1 tons of CO_2e or 47% compared with previous systems. This reduction also eliminates the need for an estimated 420,000 disposable AA batteries and 6.5 million sheets of paper, which can allow the health system to save $1.2m over a ten-year device lifetime. These findings suggest patient monitoring can become part of an overall carbon reduction strategy for health systems.

Data from the LCA indicate that the Philips IntelliVue and EarlyVue monitors can help reduce the health system’s patient monitoring carbon footprint by 508 tons of CO_2e across all facets of the lifecycle. Battery and paper savings reduce CO_2e by an additional 177.1 tons.

Before upgrading to Philips, all Jackson’s legacy telemetry patient monitors were powered by disposable AA batteries, requiring hundreds of replacements each week. With the previous monitors, clinicians printed paper wavestrips multiple times a day per patient and then manually scanned them into their electronic medical record. In contrast, Philips telemetry monitors (www.usa.philips.com/healthcare/solutions/patient-monitoring) can run on rechargeable batteries, and provide a digital, automated wavestrip workflow, eliminating paper waste and freeing clinicians to spend more time with patients.

“At Jackson Health System, we are committed to sustainable practices that support human and environmental health,” said Rosa Costanzo, chief supply chain officer at Jackson Health (jacksonhealth.org). “By transitioning to Philips patient monitors, we can reduce our carbon footprint and bring lasting benefits in materials and costs. This assessment illustrates that health systems can balance the need for advanced technology with environmental sustainability.”

Jackson Health prioritises sustainable procurement practices and is deliberate with the lifecycle of its technology. The healthcare provider has traded in its legacy monitors to AllParts Medical (www.allpartsmedical.com), a division of Dutch firm Philips (www.philips.com), for parts refurbishment and reuse, responsible recycling and to promote circularity to ensure nothing is sent to landfill. The health system has also been working with a partner to recycle 100% of its paper and batteries.

“There are significant sustainability challenges in today’s healthcare industry, and forward-thinking health systems are taking action,” said Jeff DiLullo from Philips in North America. “I commend Jackson Health System for leading by example and embracing sustainable digital capabilities. By integrating advanced technology to reduce carbon emissions and cut waste, they create the benefit of improving staff satisfaction and productivity. Together, we can pave the way to better patient care while also protecting our planet with a healthier, more sustainable future.”

The LCA was conducted using data collection, onsite interviews and analysis to quantify costs and waste figures. The LCA evaluated 2887 bedside, telemetry, transport and spot-check monitors from production to disposal, assessing environmental impacts of resource extraction, manufacturing, transportation, use and end of use.