POSITION STATEMENTS
RACS Reusable Surgical Gowns Position Statement (PDF 212.89KB)
Endorsed by:
Endorsed by:
SUBMISSIONS
Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Submission
The Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Policy and Methods Review was established to examine Australia's approach to assessing health technologies for government funding, and to deliver a report and recommendations to the Australian Government.
RACS made a submission to the HTA Review, endorsing the reporting of environmental impacts and using this data in approval and reimbursement decisions for the health technology products. Read the RACS submission
In the Final Report for the Review, Recommendation 43 on Environmental impact reporting aligns with RACS' recommendations in its submission. Read the Health Technology Assessment Policy and Methods Review final report collection
Qin RX, Velin L, Yates EF, et al. Building sustainable and resilient surgical systems: A narrative review of opportunities to integrate climate change into national surgical planning in the Western Pacific region. The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific 2022; 22. DOI:10.1016/j.lanwpc.2022.100407.
McGain F, Muret J, Lawson C, Sherman JD. Environmental sustainability in anaesthesia and critical care. British Journal of Anaesthesia 2020; 125: 680–92.
Leddin D, Omary MB, Veitch A, et al. Uniting the global gastroenterology community to meet the challenge of climate change and non-recyclable waste. Gut 2021; 70: 2025–9.
Bravo D, Gaston RG, Melamed E. Environmentally Responsible Hand Surgery: Past, Present, and Future. J Hand Surg Am 2020; 45: 444–8.
Sanabria A, Kowalski LP, Nixon IJ, et al. Considerations for environmentally sustainable head and neck surgical oncology practice. Am J Otolaryngol 2020; 41: 102719.
Lancet countdown on health and climate change - Updated every year
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report Health Chapter
LIFE-CYCLE ANALYSIS
MacNeill AJ, Lillywhite R, Brown CJ. The impact of surgery on global climate: a carbon foot printing study of operating theatres in three health systems. The Lancet Planetary Health 2017; 1: e381–8.
Woods DL, McAndrew T, Nevadunsky N, et al. Carbon footprint of robotically assisted laparoscopy, laparoscopy and laparotomy: a comparison. Int J Med Robot 2015; 11: 406–12.
Rizan C, Steinbach I, Nicholson R, Lillywhite R, Reed M, Bhutta MF. The Carbon Footprint of Surgical Operations: A Systematic Review. Ann Surg 2020; 272: 986–95.
Thiel CL, Woods NC, Bilec MM. Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Laparoscopic Surgery. Am J Public Health 2018; 108: S158–64.
REPORTS
Person-Centred Value-Based Health Care (PDF 2.31MB)
Value-based Surgery - Clinical Practice Guide (PDF 767.01KB)
Moving Towards High Value Care Toolkit - Identifying and Addressing Low Value Care (PDF 782.46KB)
BLOGS
PODCASTS
How to save a planet