A literature review of the environmental footprint in economics evaluation

ABSTRACT: Objective: This review seeks to document, through the available literature, whether and how the impact on the environment (Greenhouse gases emissions, water and energy consumption, waste production) is included in the applied economic evaluation of healthcare services and goods in the "Europe of 12". Methods: Three literature databases (PubMed, Scopus, and EMBASE) were searched. Keywords related to economic evaluation and healthcare system have been combined with terms related to the environment. Subject titles and abstract were then analyzed to select relevant articles. Eligible articles were those that provided a framework or drafted recommendations on how to include the impact on the environment of a healthcare treatment, service, or device when conducting an economic evaluation of a healthcare product where the relationship of this product with the environment is considered. Results: From the 1226 articles identified through database, 25 were included in the results. Different environmental-related dimensions (greenhouse gases, waste, water, energy) were discovered. Common way to calculate the environment impact were also discovered, although no uniform methods were expressed. Conclusion: Through the results, no uniform methods were found. Guidelines should be created to encourage and standardize the economic evaluation the inclusion of the environment impact. Keywords: Literature review, Health technology assessment, Environmental footprint