Authors: Michela Bobini1, Americo Cicchetti1
Affiliations:
1 Graduate School of Health Economics and Management (ALTEMS), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
The following is a summary of a research paper by the authors. For more information, please see the published full-text journal article: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0266462324000631
Climate change is already affecting human health—through extreme weather events, air pollution, and disrupted food and water systems. At the same time, healthcare itself contributes significantly to environmental harm. To address this, health systems must find ways to become more sustainable. One key opportunity lies in health technology assessment (HTA)—a process that evaluates the value of medicines, devices, and other health interventions. This was recognised in Australia’s recent HTA Policy and Methods Review, which recommended that “Australia should actively involve itself in efforts to establish new international standards for assessing the environmental impacts of health technology products.”.
Our study explored whether and how HTA organizations around the world are starting to integrate environmental sustainability (ES) into their work. We surveyed 26 organizations across 20 countries, including Australia. Most agreed on the importance of environmental considerations, but only 9 were actively taking steps in that direction.
These early adopters are experimenting with methods to measure the environmental impact of health technologies across their entire life cycle—from production to disposal. The most commonly used approach is life cycle assessment (LCA), and specifically a technique called environmentally extended input–output analysis, which estimates carbon emissions across industries. There’s also growing interest in linking environmental outcomes with economic evaluations, such as cost-utility analysis.
However, progress is slow. Major barriers include a lack of high-quality environmental data, difficulties in linking data to specific technologies, and a shortage of staff with interdisciplinary expertise. Despite these challenges, HTA organizations recognize that integrating ES can improve not only environmental outcomes, but also health equity, system efficiency, and long-term planning.
This study offers the first international snapshot of how HTA is evolving to meet the demands of sustainability. It shows that we are at the beginning of a complex but vital transition. More research, training, and cross-border collaboration will be essential. But one thing is clear: making healthcare greener is not optional—it’s a necessary step to safeguard human and planetary health.
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