Adding A Climate Lens To Health Policy In The United States

abstract Climate change increasingly threatens the ability of the US health care system to deliver safe, effective, and efficient care to the American people. The existing health care system has key vulnerabilities that will grow more problematic as the effects of climate change on Americans' l...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health affairs (Millwood, Va.) Va.), 2020-12, Vol.39 (12), p.2063-2070
Main Authors: Salas, Renee N, Friend, Tynan H, Bernstein, Aaron, Jha, Ashish K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Climate change
Climate effects
Clinical decision making
Decarbonization
Decision making
Emissions
Environmental assessment
Environmental policy
Greenhouse effect
Greenhouse gases
Health care
Health care access
Health care delivery
Health care policy
Health policy
Health risks
Health services
Infrastructure
Lenses
Policy making
Resilience
Workforce
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Summary:abstract Climate change increasingly threatens the ability of the US health care system to deliver safe, effective, and efficient care to the American people. The existing health care system has key vulnerabilities that will grow more problematic as the effects of climate change on Americans' lives become stronger. Thus, health care policy makers must integrate a climate lens as they develop health system interventions. Applying a climate lens means assessing climate change-driven health risks and integrating them into policies and other actions to improve the nation's health. This lens can be applied to rethinking how to take a more population-based approach to health care delivery, prioritize health care system decarbonization and resilience, adapt data infrastructure, develop a climate-ready workforce, and pay for care. Our recommendations outline how to include climate-informed assessments into health care decision making and health policy, ultimately leading to a more resilient and equitable health care system that is better able to meet the needs of patients today and in the future.
ISSN:0278-2715
1544-5208
DOI:10.1377/hlthaff.2020.01352