Please see Inhalers and the environment for more information about our work on inhaler prescribing.
Medical tests, treatments and procedures can be helpful when you really need them. However, they are not always necessary and sometimes they can do more harm than good.
This video has a fun way of explaining this:
When people are on lots of medications this can lead to harmful drug interactions and difficulty with taking the medication correctly. This is called problematic polypharmacy. Where possible, the practice is reducing problematic polypharmacy and over-prescribing to improve care for patients and the planet.
We now know that long-term opioid medication can be harmful to some patients. We are working with patients to review their opioid use and reduce it where possible (see Chronic pain to find out more).
Unnecessary tests can potentially cause harm to patients. A study in patients with sudden onset, non-specific lower back pain showed that those who had imaging tests (xrays, CT or MRI scans) in the first six weeks had no improvement in pain, physical function or satisfaction. Some patients had false-positive results or incidental findings (which had no impact on their symptoms) which could affect the choice of treatment and at worst lead to unnecessary surgeries. Those who had an xray or CT scan were unnecessarily exposed to radiation. Find out more here.
Most of the carbon emissions in primary care come from our clinical care, so making sure that what we do is evidence-based, person-centred and free from harm is one of the most useful things we can to make sure healthcare is better for patients and planet.
It’s important that patients and healthcare staff talk about possible benefits and risks of any medication, test or treatment, as well as what matters to the patient. This means that we can make shared decisions based on the best evidence and each individual’s circumstances and needs. Find out more at realisticmedicine.scot.
At all times of our lives it is worth thinking about What Matters to You, to help guide good conversations with your healthcare provider. What matters to us changes as we go through different experiences in our lives. Here is a guide for patients on having a “What Matters to You” conversation with their health care provider.