Sustainable hygiene in medical practices: lower resource consumption!

Sustainable hygiene in medical practices: lower resource consumption!

A current report from the Fraunhofer Institute for System and Innovation Research ISI, creates on behalf of the Federal Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), explains extensive strategies to reduce resource consumption in the hygiene area of ​​German doctor's practices. It is emphasized that it is possible to reduce consumption or occupational safety. The analysis based on document and literature evaluations as well as a survey of 666 doctors: inside and medical assistants shows significant weaknesses in the applicable hygiene specifications. Many of these guidelines based on hospital standards prove to be unsuitable for the outpatient sector and lead to high consumption of disposable materials, chemicals and energy, especially in conservative family doctor's practices. Almost half of the specialists surveyed perceive the hygiene specifications and the associated checks.

dr. Tanja Bratan, project manager of the report, points out that many structural requirements are criticized as difficult to implement. In order to promote more sustainable hygiene practices in medical practices, the report recommends clear guidelines for outpatient facilities, better training and financial incentives. An integration of medical device manufacturers and the creation of an ecological seal for resource -saving practices could also contribute to resource conservation. These points are crucial in order not to endanger the quality of care while at the same time promoted more environmentally conscious use.

challenges in the hygiene area

The health sector causes around 5 percent of resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the topic of sustainability is becoming increasingly important in the outpatient area. The hygiene measures are particularly important because they have to protect both resources and serve infection prevention. The report indicates that the hygiene requirements in the outpatient sector are often assessed as too far -reaching and resource -intensive. In the survey, 51 percent of the participants rated the hygiene requirements as appropriate, while 44 percent found them exaggerated.

Another problematic aspect is the insufficient exchange between outpatient and inpatient facilities, especially with regard to multi -resistant infections. 46 percent of those surveyed found monitoring by health authorities to be too comprehensive, which indicates a discrepancy between the requirements and practical feasibility.

recommendations for action for sustainable practices

The report contains specific recommendations for action, including the development of more clear hygiene requirements and the review of existing recommendations with regard to sustainability aspects. A central part of the recommendations is the improvement of hygiene knowledge and strengthening hygiene training in medical studies. In addition, the implementation of public awareness campaigns for resource conservation is proposed to sensitize the actors: inside the healthcare system for this topic.

A related project that acts under the name "Ecological Sustainability in the Outpatient Health Care (ÖNAG)" pursues similar goals. It aims to support the actor in the outpatient health sector in the development and implementation of one's own measures to protect resources. Among other things, a co-creation approach is pursued that includes the inclusion of specialists from various areas such as medical practices, pharmacies and care. The aim is to provide practical guidelines that respond to the special needs and challenges of this sector and thus help to reduce hurdles for sustainable outpatient healthcare.

The comprehensive analysis and the resulting recommendations illustrate how important it is to include the special features of the outpatient sector in future hygiene regulations in order to find both sustainable and practical solutions for the challenges in healthcare. For improving the hygiene standards and resource conservation in the health sector, considerable efforts are required based on a solid basis for research and direct feedback from practice.

For more information Read Oekonews href = "https://www.isi.fraunhofer.de/de/presse/2025/presseinfo-05 reduction resource consumption-zorstpraxen-hygienegiemabe.html"> Fraunhofer isi and Fraunhofer isi project .