Green Medical Practice

Passionate About Protecting the Planet (Dr. Daniel Wolk)
“I’m a family physician in a suburb of Philadelphia with 3 internists. We’ve owned and run our practice independently for almost 16 years. Since I’m passionate about protecting our planet, we’re doing a lot to make our practice as “green” as possible. For example:

• Using recycled paper products (NOT Kleenex!)
• All light fixtures are fluorescent. When we renovated and downsized our office 2 years ago, we moved the waiting room and reception area so they have windows (for natural light and ventilation) and installed the most energy-efficient lighting available.
• Our landlord planted trees in the parking lot (on his own).
• All the thermostats are clock thermostats.
• Computers and office equipment are Energy Star.
• Copies of multiple pages are 2-sided.
• The coffee maker is on a timer, so it heats only when the office is open.
• We recycle all beverage containers, alcohol bottles, paper, and cardboard.
• E-prescribing eliminates most paper prescriptions, and the patients love it!
• Electronic referrals are paperless.
• Finally, Epocrates on our PDAs makes a paper PDR unnecessary!”

What My Office Does to Stay Green (Dr. Kathleen Griffin)
“The things we do aren’t difficult to accomplish but when you add them up they are having an impact: Conserving electricity by closing blinds whenever possible; shutting off computers and other office equipment at night and especially on weekends and holidays; replacing all fluorescent fixtures with energy-conserving bulbs; using a timer-controlled thermostat; buying a low-energy consumption refrigerator; re-cycling all paper, plastic, aluminum, and cardboard products; converting to an EMR system with electronic billing; utilizing cloth drapes, not paper, and ceramic cups, not disposable; walking to work; sharing rides whenever possible.”

Tale From Brazil (Dr. Hugo Brito)
“Working as a family physician in Brazil is challenging. I was asked to visit a woman who had just had a baby and was complaining of shortness of breath. When I arrived I noticed a pile of garbage on fire outside her house with smoke coming out, a bad habit of her husband and many others in that district who consider burning easier than putting the garbage out once a week for the collector. They were completely ignorant about the risks for their own health and the environment. That was the starting point for a program of community education and working with local authorities to implement a rational garbage handling and recycling program.”

Saving Energy in My Private Practice (Dr. Jane Kano)
“I have a small private practice. I have recycled paper, including throw-away magazines, and all the mail that comes across my desk that is unidentified. I switched from providing bottled water for my staff to a standing cooler/hot water dispenser. I reuse most of the paper that has no identifiers on the back for copying. I turn off lights as soon as the day is done. Most of my lighting is fluorescent. If I sample a few weeks’ worth of meds in bottles, I combine them and recycle the plastic and cardboard boxes. I reuse chart covers that have been lightly used when shredding old charts. I use cloth gowns and a cleaning service. I reuse notebooks from conferences. Thank goodness, though, that we no longer have to sharpen and reuse needles and syringes like our predecessors. Nothing fancy here but I do what I can.”