Green bioethics, patient autonomy, and informed consent in health care

Green bioethics, patient autonomy, and informed consent in health care
Original Research
David B Resnik, Jonathan Pugh
Journal of Medical Ethics, 13 October 2023
Abstract
Green bioethics is an area of research and scholarship that examines the impact of health care practices and policies on the environment and emphasizes environmental values, such as ecological sustainability and stewardship. Some green bioethicists have argued that health care providers should inform patients about the environmental impacts of treatments and advocate for options that minimize adverse impacts. While disclosure of information pertaining to the environmental impacts of treatments could facilitate autonomous decision-making and strengthen the patient-provider relationship in situations where patients have clearly expressed environmental concerns, it may have the opposite effect in other situations if it serves to make patients feel like they are being judged or manipulated. We argue, therefore, that there is not a generalizable duty to disclose environmental impact information to all patients during the consent process. Providers who practice green bioethics should focus on advocating for system-level changes in health care financing, organization, and delivery and use discretion when bringing up environmental concerns in their encounters with patients.