Green emergency medicine-resource conservation in preclinical emergency medicine Primary market analysis on the availability of environmentally sustainable medical consumables

Background: Despite increasing importance of ecological sustainability in the health care system, there are no scientific studies on the possibilities of resource-saving work. Furthermore, there are no analyses on the availability of sustainably produced medical consumables for the health sector. Objectives: The present work investigates the availability of sustainable medical consumables. Methods: As part of a primary market analysis, 29 manufacturing companies of medical consumables commonly used by emergency medical services were asked to participate in an anonymous survey comprising 17 questions. Results: We had a sample size of n = 8 (response rate 28%). Sustainable products are available from 75% of manufacturers of medical consumables. These are made from renewable materials, for example, or are packaged in recyclable materials by 6 manufacturers. Aspects of the topic of sustainability in rescue services include a lack of opportunities for the reuse and recycling of used medical consumables. Limited space in emergency vehicles and also hygienic aspects of the use of disposable and reusable medical products lead to lack of opportunities to separate and reuse or recycle medical waste. Conclusions: It is possible to use ecologically sustainably produced medical consumables in preclinical emergency medicine as there are companies that already produce sustainable medical consumables. However, these are more expensive than conventionally produced materials. Due to the lack of demand for medical consumables from sustainable production so far, either the sensitivity or the interest for that topic in rescue services is not present. Concepts for resource conservation in rescue services must be established. In this way, green emergency medicine can contribute to both public health and the health of individual patients.