Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: Healthcare systems exist to promote and improve human health, while significantly contributing to environmental impacts linked to adverse health outcomes. Although attention to these impacts has increased, their influence on healthcare decision-making remains limited. In this study, we examined the magnitude and geographical distribution of environmental impacts associated with healthcare provision in Denmark, with a focus on identifying potential externalities beyond national and regional boundaries.
METHODS: A hybrid environmentally extended multi-regional input-output analysis (EEIOA) was applied to Danish healthcare expenditure data. This approach links healthcare demand to environmental impacts along global supply chains, capturing both domestic and international activities.
RESULTS: Healthcare provision in Denmark accounts for a significant share of national environmental impacts across the assessed categories. While climate change impacts are global, the results show that a substantial portion of regionalized environmental impacts occurs outside Denmark, with a significant share also located outside Europe. Impacts related to water consumption are predominantly concentrated in regions commonly associated with water resource scarcity, while land use impacts are largely located outside Europe. These patterns indicate that environmental impacts linked to healthcare provision are geographically externalised along global supply chains.
CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that healthcare provision may generate environmental impacts beyond the spatial boundaries considered in current decision-making frameworks, especially in the context of increasing focus on climate change mitigation. Failure to account for these effects may result in healthcare systems delivering benefits domestically while displacing regionalized environmental impacts and associated health risks to less affluent populations. Incorporating geographically distributed environmental impacts into evaluation frameworks could support more comprehensive and equitable decision-making in healthcare.