Sustainable Ophthalmology: Waste Management in the OR

The healthcare industry accounts for 10% of all U.S. greenhouse gas/carbon dioxide emissions, with a significant portion of that attributable to operating rooms. With millions of ophthalmic surgeries performed each year, ophthalmologists can play a big role in reducing our carbon footprint.

This Better Edge podcast episode features a conversation with a leader of the sustainable surgery movement, David J. Palmer, MD, who is a clinical associate professor of Ophthalmology at Northwestern Medicine. Dr. Palmer sheds light on waste generation associated with ophthalmic surgery and offers several interventions for reducing the environmental impact of these procedures while maintaining the safest and highest quality clinical outcomes.