Assessing the carbon footprint of medical diagnostic testing: a scoping review protocol.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

The climate crisis represents an unprecedented threat to global health systems, requiring urgent decarbonisation across all healthcare sectors. Although medical diagnostics affect approximately 70% of clinical decisions, they receive disproportionately little attention in healthcare sustainability research. This knowledge gap is particularly concerning as the impact of climate change on health may increase diagnostic testing demands, potentially creating a feedback loop of environmental harm. Carbon assessment methodologies within healthcare are heterogeneous and context-specific, with varying methodologies and assumptions complicating systematic evaluation. The proposed scoping review aims to map and analyse the existing literature on medical diagnostic carbon footpri

SUBMITTER: Famiglietti AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12519345 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature