Hi All,
Does anyone know of any research/studies that have looked at how the carbon footprint of tablet medication compares with the carbon footprint of liquid medication?
Many thanks,
Rosie
Hi Rosie,
I don't know of any data but the assumption is that liquids are more carbon intense mainly because they weigh more and therefore are more costly to transport.
There maybe studies from the transportation sector which could give you some useful data.
Let us know what you find.
Hi there,
I'm working on a project aiming to carbon cost liquid vs tablet medicines. I've done an initial literature search and drawn a blank! The brilliant CSH team have made me aware of this article but that's about all I've got so far. Anyone aware of anything else, or anyone also doing work on this topic and want to link up?
Thanks,
Emily
Hi Emily, Rosie and Rosie,
This seems like a really valuable investigation where there could be carbon savings with no disadvantage to the patient. It would be great to know how this develops.
Similar, but different, with some colleagues we have been exploring how to promote oral to IV switch where appropriate. UKHSA have been working on this focused on antibiotics. I'm not sure anyone has come up with good stats on the CO2, waste and other footprints of each med, but back of the envelope calculations suggest that oral much lower.
I'd be keen to stay linked in to this conversation. Sarah.walpole1 at nhs.net
Best wishes,
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
I will keep you posted on how it goes. I've heard it's going to be a challenge as nothing like this has really been done previously and pharmaceutical companies don't publish their carbon data. But maybe there is a way to push them to do so. I'm hoping to at least be able to make some calculations related to cost (and extrapolating carbon cost from that), shelf life, need for refridgeration, etc. I will keep this thread updated as to where I get to with it.
Your work on oral switching sounds great. Would be interested to hear how this progresses too.
Emily
We're looking at switching to an altenative dispersible oramorph replacement - still some work to do yet. But I'd be keen to be involved in any work looking at this too
This sounds really interesting. Are you doing this for the presumed carbon impact? Or cost, or both? And for adult patients? So much oramorph is prescribed in inpatient settings it sounds like this could make a really big impact. Will keep you updated with how our carbon-counting project goes. Thanks, Emily
Hey everyone.
Have you had any luck with this. @SarahWalpole what were you using for your back of the envelope calculations?
Thanks
Katy
Hi Katy, We happened to meet yesterday with Emily and the Kidzmed team. We have a plan and timetable :) Do you have Emilys email address?
Matt
Hi Katy, my nhs.net username is emily.parker16 if you want to drop me an email. Thanks, Emily
Hi Emily, I don't know of anything else in the literature but my colleagues in paediatrics and in pharmacy are doing a project on switching to tablets in our department. They are looking at resources to teach children to swallow tablets and also looking at dosing options for commonly used medications. Pharmacists are great people to link in on this topic. I'll ask them if I can share their work.
Hi Clare,
This sounds really great. Would be good to hear more about their work. Have they heard of the Kidzmed project in Newcastle that did something similar re creating resources for teaching children to swallow tablets? I can probably introduce them to the project leads if they haven't already made contact. My nhs email username is emily.parker16
Thanks,
Emily
Hi Emily, yes they have looked at the Kidzmed stuff but I'm sure they would appreciate making contact, thank you! I will email you separately. Clare