1、Why climate resilience is key to building the health care organization of the futureA collaborative report from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions and the Deloitte Center for Integrated ResearchAbout the Deloitte Center for Health SolutionsDeloittes vision for the Future of HealthBy 2040, ther

2、e will be a fundamental shift from “health care” to “health.” The future will be focused on well-being and managed by companies that assume new roles to drive value in a transformed health ecosystem. As traditional life sciences and health care roles are being redefined, Deloitte is your trusted gui

3、de in transforming the role your organization will play. Discover the future of health. Learn moreYour source for fresh perspectives: The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, part of Deloitte LLPs Life Sciences and Health Care practice, delves deeper into your top-of-mind issues and provides fresh

4、thinking around complex challenges. Timely, relevant research and thought-provoking analyses deliver insight to help you see solutions through a new lens. ConnectTo learn more about the Center and our research, please visit: quick takes and personal perspectives on trends in life sciences and health

5、 care, read the Health Forward blog at: https:/ to receive periodic emails on the topics you find interesting at: us on Twitter at: DeloitteHealthEngage with us on LinkedIn via ConvergeHEALTH by DeloitteThe Deloitte Center for Integrated Research (CIR) offers rigorously researched and data-driven pe

6、rspectives on critical issues affecting businesses today. We sit at the center of Deloittes industry and functional expertise, combining the leading insights from across our firm to help leaders confidently compete in todays ever-changing marketplace. ConnectTo learn more about the vision of the Cen

7、ter for Integrated Research, its solutions, thought leadership, and events, please visit the Deloitte Center for Integrated ResearchContentsExecutive summary 2Understanding the greatest threat to global public health 3The impact of climate change on people, populations, and the Future of Health 6Acc

8、ounting for the bottom-line costs of rising emissions 9Strategies to mitigate risks, build resiliency, and contribute to climate action 11Building the vision of resiliency and innovation 21Endnotes 232Executive summaryAS THE COMPLEX relationship between climate change and human health has become inc

9、reasingly pronounced, the medical profession, life sciences organizations, and health care systems have started to respond. The medical research community now fully recognizes climate change as the “greatest threat” to global public health,1 according to an unprecedented joint statement in September

10、 2021 by more than 200 medical journals.This report outlines the core climate risks to the future of health and offers strategies that health care organizations can use to build more resilient operations. The following is a summary of the key insights to support industry leaders as they build new bu

11、siness plans, mitigate their environmental footprint, adapt their operations to changing conditions, and contribute to a more equitable, resilient health care system for all. Climate change can exacerbate health inequity: The changes to the Earths climate systems contribute to a host of health issue

12、s, commonly: lack of access to clean water, allergens, respiratory diseases, heat-induced illness, and infectious disease.2 While climate change does not discriminate, the impacts disproportionately affect historically under-resourced populations3those in urban and rural settingsmultiplying the thre

13、ats to the drivers of health (environmental, social, economic), while triggering migration, food insecurity, and mental health impacts. The resulting conditions can ultimately threaten the achievement of equitable populationwide health and wellness. As climate change ramps up, costs are expected to

14、rise: The changes to the physical environment are expected to increase the total cost of health care services and delivery borne by the economy. Air pollution and climate change already generate more than US$800 billion in health costs for the United States each year, according to the National Resou

15、rces Defense Council. These changes likewise can make it more expensive for health care organizations to operate, due to damaged infrastructure, supply-chain disruptions, and the increased complexity of care. And as the industry increasingly moves toward value-based care revenue models, the financia

16、l cost of climate-related health conditions and illnesses will drive up the total cost of care, thereby dragging down the bottom lines of both health systems and health plans alike. Health care organizations have an important role in solving the climate crisis: Beyond being impacted by the effects o

17、f climate change, health care organizations are also significant contributors to global warming. If the global health care industry was a country, for example, it would be the fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter on the planet, responsible for about 4.5% of worldwide emissions. In the United States,

18、 the health care industrys contribution to emissions is even more pronounced, adding an estimated 8%9.8% to the total national emissions.4 Mitigating existing impacts, investing in new technology, and introducing new business models are among the ways stakeholders can build resilience, while prevent

19、ing further warming. Sustainable organizations are taking a proactive stance: Many of the innovative technologies and innovative care models that are driving the Future of Health landscape can help deliver cobenefits for sustainability. Health care leaders should be actively considering climate resi

20、liency as an enterprisewide strategy. This analysis will likely require a comprehensive look at the risks throughout the value chain, but can equip organizations to prepare for, and respond to, risks as they emerge.Why climate resilience is key to building the health care organization of the future3

21、CLIMATE CHANGE ENDANGERS life on every continent, universally exacerbating a host of health conditions and damaging the essential drivers of our overall health and wellness. And the environmental threats to health outcomes and related impacts on other drivers of health (e.g., socioeconomic impacts o

22、n communities) are accelerating as extreme climate events become increasingly prevalent.In 2021 alone, the United States saw a historic deep freeze in Texas,5 the hottest summer on record,6 the driest month in California since the state began gathering data,7 and the third most-named hurricanes (21)

23、 in recorded history.8 Each of these events exacted a very real cost on human health. The winter storm and frigid temperatures in Texas, for example, overwhelmed hospitals and emergency departments (EDs), seriously disrupted health care operations, and forced the cancellation of elective surgeries.9

24、 On the other extreme, the heat wave in King County, Washington, drove a spike in ED visits for heat-related illness in a single weekend in June 2021.Understanding the greatest threat to global public healthFIGURE 1Climate change is a universal risk to human health and well-beingThe concentration of

25、 carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the highest in human history. The last nine years all rank among the ten warmest on record according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.C L I M A T E R I S K SH E A L T H I M P A C T SRising sea levelsExtreme heatSevere weatherAir pollutionWil

26、dfiresRespiratorye.g., allergens, asthmaInfectious diseasee.g., vector-borne, malaria,COVID-19Neurologice.g., migration anxiety, major storm impacts, depression, dementiaGastrointestinale.g., malnutrition, diarrheal diseaseSource: Deloitte analysis of scientific studies and IPCC reports.Deloitte Ins

27、ights | heat impacts, heart attacks, heat strokeDroughtWhy climate resilience is key to building the health care organization of the future4Human health played a markedly more central role in the dialogues of the United Nations COP26 global climate conference. Considering the impact on human health

28、of these increasingly common extreme environmental events and conditions, many stakeholders across the health care ecosystem are finally beginning to feel a broad sense of urgency. The medical research community now fully recognizes the human health impacts of climate change, as more than 200 medica

29、l journals released an unprecedented joint statement last September citing it as the “greatest threat” to global public health.10 The issue has become a priority for the US government, and human health played a markedly more central role in the dialogues of the United Nations COP26 global climate co

30、nference. And, as part of the broader portfolio of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) priorities, companies across the sector are increasingly focused on reducing their operational footprint, even beginning to address health impacts of climate change.At Intermountain Healthcare, for example

31、, climate change has become an organizational priority, driving investments in renewable energy, decarbonization, and energy efficiency. And even for health plan organizations, with a smaller direct emissions footprint than their provider and life sciences counterparts, climate and sustainability in

32、itiatives have become leadership priorities. Centene, for example, has increasingly prioritized environmental and climate issues over the past few years with a focus not just on emissions reduction but the impact of environmental factors on the health of their members. Health care ESG coalition grou

33、ps have also emerged as important players in recent years as organizations have begun to tackle climate-related challenges head on.Organizations such as Bon Secours Mercy Health have joined health care ESG coalition groups such as the nationwide Healthcare Anchor Network to collaborate across organi

34、zations on social determinants of health, including those which are affected by environmental issues. At the same time, health care is rapidly shifting its focus from a reactive treatment of diseases and illnesses to a model that equitably and proactively promotes health and wellness across populati

35、ons. This change will likely continue to accelerate as data and technology, deployed in a decentralized fashion directly with consumers outside of traditional care settings, allow us to have “always-on” measurements of health, better understand the underlying causal mechanisms of health and wellness

36、, and predict disease and illness. This shift alone portends dramatic changes for players across the health care industry, demanding new business models from both incumbents and disrupters. However, climate change and its related impacts can present an enormous challenge to the realization of this h

37、ealthier future. Climate change not only contributes to a host of health issues, but it can also exacerbate the health inequities that the industry has recently begun working in earnest to rectify.Why climate resilience is key to building the health care organization of the future5Thats because the

38、communities that are the most vulnerable to the effects of a changing climate tend to be those least equipped to manage and recover from the physical, economic, mental, and social devastation that accompanies it. Indeed, addressing the “greatest threat” to global public health is no small undertakin

39、g. It likely requires health organizations to mitigate their own sizable carbon emissions, transform their operations to meet emerging needs, and engage across the sector to create more sustainable supply chains. Organizations should understand the vulnerabilities in the patient populations they car

40、e for, as well as the geography-based expected climate impacts for their regions they serve. As first responders to human health emergencies, and as organizations dedicated to health and well-being, life sciences and health care organizations hold a responsibility to prove resiliency in times of nee

41、d and to contribute to building healthier communities. Without organizational-level changes to become more climate resilient, a healthier and more equitable Future of Health may not be achieved.No longer can we ignore the unbreakable connection between the health of our planet and the health of our

42、people. As health care leaders, we have a responsibility to protect our patients and the communities we serve from the health impacts of climate change. This is a moral and business imperative, and at its core, climate change is a health equity issue. Caring for Earth is part of caring for the peopl

43、e who rely on us. Lloyd H. Dean, CEO, CommonSpirit HealthDELOITTES VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF HEALTHTMBy 2040, Deloitte envisions a world where seamless collaboration among stakeholders focused on health and well-being is the standard. Its a consumer-centric future of well-being where data, technology

44、, and new ways to prevent disease and promote wellness are readily accessible. The Future of Health is organized around the consumer, not health care institutions, and the consumer owning ones own data. Its an environment where digital transformationenabled by always-on sensors; radically interopera

45、ble data; artificial intelligence; and open, secure platformssparks innovation and change. This progress will not only affect how, when, and where care occurs, but who is in charge and the types of services, products, and businesses in the industry. Further reading can be found in our published repo

46、rt.Why climate resilience is key to building the health care organization of the future6BEYOND THE WALLS of clinical care settings, there are social, economic, and environmental factors that account for 80%90% of “the modifiable contributors to healthy outcomes.”11 Central to the Future of Health is

47、 the realization that addressing these drivers of health is imperative to delivering more holistic, equitable, and proactive care (figure 2).Climate change stands out as the key force multiplier (a driver of health whose fluctuations amplify the effects, whether positive or negative, of another driv

48、er in an exponential, nonlinear way) among those drivers and a cross-cutting challenge to a vision of equitable wellness. In this sense, climate change is both an urgent environmental and social priority area as part of the broader ESG portfolio.The impact of climate change on people, populations, a

49、nd the Future of HealthFIGURE 2The physical environment is a threat multiplier for overall human healthClimate change disproportionately affects the health and well-being of historically under-resourced communitiesSource: Deloitte analysis. WildfiresRising sea levelsExtreme heatSevere weatherAir pol

50、lutionDroughtsSocial determinants of healthDrivers of healthPhysical environment InfrastructureEconomyWealthEmploymentEducationConnectionSafetyFoodSocial Economic TECHNOLOGIES CULTURES STRUCTURES Environmental EconomicWhy climate resilience is key to building the health care organization of the futu