Philips & Jackson Health Systems Announces LCA Results

Royal Philips and Jackson Health System, one of the nation’s largest public health systems in the United States, announced the results of a collaborative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) measuring the sustainability impact of transitioning to Philips next-generation monitoring solutions. Findings suggest that patient monitoring can become part of an overall carbon reduction strategy for health systems.
 
Data from the LCA showed that the Philips IntelliVue and EarlyVue monitors can help reduce the health system’s patient monitoring carbon footprint by 508 tons of CO2e across all facets of the lifecycle.
 
The study was conducted at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Jackson North Medical Center, and Jackson South Medical Center in Miami-Dade County in Florida.
 
“At Jackson Health System, we are committed to sustainable practices that support human and environmental health,” said Rosa M. Costanzo, Chief Supply Chain and Procurement Officer at Jackson Health System. “By transitioning to Philips patient monitors, we can reduce our carbon footprint and bring lasting benefits in materials and costs. This assessment illustrates that health systems can balance the need for advanced technology with environmental sustainability.”
 
The Philips patient monitors, deployed as an Enterprise Monitoring as a Service (EMaaS) business model*, can help reduce carbon emissions by 685.1 tons of CO2e or 47% compared to previous systems ^1,2,3. This significant reduction also eliminates the need for an estimated 420,000 disposable AA batteries and 6.5 million sheets of paper, which can allow the health system to save $1.2 million over a 10-year device lifetime. 
 
Before upgrading to Philips, all of Jackson’s legacy telemetry patient monitors were powered by disposable AA batteries. With the previous monitors, clinicians printed paper wavestrips multiple times a day per patient and then manually scanned them into their electronic medical records. 
 
Philips telemetry monitors can run on rechargeable batteries, and provide a digital, automated wavestrip workflow, eliminating paper waste and freeing clinicians to spend more time with patients. Battery and paper savings reduce CO2e by an additional 177.1 tons^2,3.
 
The healthcare provider has traded in its legacy monitors to AllParts Medical, a division of Philips, for parts refurbishment and reuse, responsible recycling, and to promote circularity to ensure nothing is sent to landfill. The health system has also been working with a partner to recycle 100% of its paper and batteries.
 
“There are significant sustainability challenges in today’s healthcare industry, and forward-thinking health systems are taking action,” said Jeff DiLullo, Chief Region Leader, Philips North America. “I commend Jackson Health System for leading by example and embracing sustainable digital capabilities. By integrating advanced technology to reduce carbon emissions and cut waste, they create the benefit of improving staff satisfaction and productivity. Together, we can pave the way to better patient care while also protecting our planet with a healthier, more sustainable future.”
 
The LCA was conducted using data collection, onsite interviews, and analysis to quantify costs and waste figures. The LCA evaluated 2,887 bedside, telemetry, transport, and spot-check monitors from production to disposal, assessing the environmental impacts of resource extraction, manufacturing, transportation, use, and end of use.
 

References:

¹ Results from case studies are not predictive of results in other cases.
² Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) results are obtained using Philips Environmental Profit & Loss (EP&L), proxy data, and literature and estimated data. The LCA is not validated externally by 3^rd party. 
³ The outcomes are projected over the device’s lifespan. 
*Philips and Jackson Health have been long-term, strategic partners since 2018 around an Enterprise Monitoring as a Service (EMaaS) model. EMaaS is a subscription-based solution that provides healthcare organizations with integrated patient monitoring technology and services to enhance patient care and streamline hospital operations.